BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's track and field team was picked to finish ninth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference office announced on Thursday morning.

The Golden Bears received 89 points in the poll, putting them eight points ahead of 10^th-place MSU Moorhead and 28 points behind eighth-place Wayne State.

Minnesota State was picked to win the conference with a total of 196 points, receiving 14 of the 15 possible first-place votes. The University of Mary was picked as the conference runner-up with 183 points and the final first-place vote.

Last season, the Golden Bears placed ninth at the NSIC Outdoor Championships with a total of 27 points.

When asked about the upcoming outdoor season, Head Coach Sam Kettenhofen stated, "What excites me most is the progress our group made during the indoor season, especially with so many athletes putting together strong performances and setting personal bests. We have a group that continues to grow in confidence and consistency, and that's been really encouraging to see. As we move outdoors, there are exciting possibilities across all of the events, and I think this team has the potential to take another step forward as the season gets underway."

Senior middle distance runner Nyadio Chan was tabbed CSP's track athlete to watch while junior multi-athlete Mehlayna Straub  was chosen as CSP's field athlete to watch.

Looking ahead to Chan's outdoor season, Kettenhofen said, "Nyadio is definitely someone to watch for us this outdoor season. As a school record holder in multiple events and coming off a conference runner-up finish during the indoor season, she's consistently proven she can compete at a high level. With this being the final chapter of a really decorated career, she's motivated to finish strong and we're excited to see what she can accomplish this outdoor season."

Chan enters the outdoor campaign fresh off an indoor campaign that saw her break school records in both the 800-meter (2:16.67) and 1,000-meter (2:56.95). She also earned All-NSIC honors at the NSIC Indoor Championships with a second-place finish in the 1,000-meter. Last outdoor season, she set a new program record in the outdoor 800-meter with a time of 2:13.27 at the NSIC Outdoor Championships.

On Straub, Kettenhofen stated, "Mehlayna is someone we're really excited about in the combined events this outdoor season. She earned All-Conference honors during the indoor season, hit an NCAA provisional score, and made significant strides across each of the event disciplines. That kind of progress has built a lot of momentum for her, and we're looking forward to seeing her continue that growth as she pushes towards a very successful outdoor campaign."

Straub finished the 2025 outdoor season as an All-NSIC performer as she finished second in the heptathlon at the NSIC Outdoor Championships. She enters directly off a 2026 indoor campaign that saw her earn All-NSIC honors once again, finishing third in the pentathlon at the NSIC Indoor Championships with 3,612 points. 

The Golden Bears will open the outdoor campaign at the Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Neb. on March 27 and 28.