RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – For the first time this indoor season, the Harding men's track and field team swept the Great American Conference weekly awards. Freshman Benson Lingokal was named Track Athlete of the Week, and senior Vlad Malykhin earned Field Athlete of the Week honors, the league office announced Tuesday.
The sweep follows a historic weekend for the No. 10-ranked Bisons at the Wooo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, where the duo led the team against elite Division I competition.
Lingokal's Golden Debut
A freshman from Eldoret, Kenya, Benson Lingokal made an immediate impact in his Harding debut. Competing in the 3,000-meter run, Lingokal dominated a field featuring several Division I distance runners to capture the event title in 8:26.13.
Lingokal finished more than eight seconds ahead of the runner-up. His debut time immediately catapults him to the top of the GAC performance list and ranks 11th in the Central Region.
Malykhin Reclaims National No. 1
Senior Vlad Malykhin earns his first GAC honor of the season after reaching new heights in the pole vault. Malykhin cleared 5.45m (17-10.50) to finish second overall at the University of Arkansas, placing as the top non-Division I competitor in the field.
The performance officially moved Malykhin to the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division II this season. It marks his highest clearance since his national championship-winning vault in March 2025. Malykhin is currently the only vaulter in the country to clear 17-10 during the 2026 indoor campaign.
Bison Momentum
The weekly honors come as the Bisons maintained their status as a top-10 program nationally, checking in at No. 10 in Tuesday's USTFCCCA National Rating Index. Harding has now earned four weekly GAC honors on the men's side this season.
Lingokal, Malykhin, and the Bisons will continue their season this weekend at the Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Feb. 13-14.
Harding's 2026 GAC Men's Athletes of the Week
