New Prairie battled through a loaded field Tuesday night at the 2026 NIC Championships, finishing seventh overall with 27 team points. The Cougars were led by strong distance performances, valuable relay contributions, and key points in the hurdles and field events. The distance group once again paced the Cougars throughout the evening. In the 1600m, Jillian Firanek earned a seventh-place finish in 5:51.05 to score two points, while teammate Madelyn Lower followed in eighth with a time of 5:54.88. New Prairie added another strong showing in the 3200m, where Natalie Klemczak placed seventh in 12:55.46 and Raegan Bicker finished eighth in 13:01.07. In the 800m, Janice Felker battled to an eighth-place finish against a competitive field, crossing in 2:35.04 to add another team point. The Cougars also scored in three relay events. The 4x800 relay team of Mikaela Wilson, Janice Felker, Elise Zelasko, and Ella Sanford turned in an excellent third-place finish in 10:30.34 to earn six points. The 4x100 relay squad of Izabelle Young, Isla Wood, Aubrey Schelstraete, and Eliza Leslie added four more points with a fifth-place finish in 54.67. In the 4x400 relay, the team of Bailey Futa, Mikaela Wilson, Isla Wood, and Olivia Rice finished seventh overall in 4:29.37 to score two points. In the hurdles, Bailey Futa scored in both events for New Prairie. She placed eighth in the 100m hurdles with a 17.84 performance, then returned later in the evening to finish eighth again in the 300m hurdles in 50.47, missing seventh place by just one-hundredth of a second. Aubrey Schelstraete narrowly missed scoring in the 300 hurdles, placing ninth in 50.50. The field events also contributed valuable points for the Cougars. In the high jump, Eliza Leslie cleared 4'10" to place seventh overall and score two points. In the throws, Chloe Deutscher scored in both events, taking eighth in the shot put (27'6.5") and sixth in the discus (81'6"). Despite competing in one of the toughest conferences in northern Indiana, the Cougars showed balance across multiple event groups and continued building momentum heading into the postseason.