With three months to go before a new crop of Eagles arrives, the NWACC Men's Cross Country and Track and Field programs have already locked in nine athletes across all events. Coaches Josphat Boit and Chris Weller have added a heavy crop of distance runners, including six top-20 finishers in their respective Arkansas state cross country championships. 

NWACC Commits at State Meets

Cross Country

Ben Frederick, 2nd (AAA 2A Cross Country State Championship)

Corbett Stephenson, 12th (AAA 5A Cross Country State Championship)

Ryan Lewis, 12th (AAA 4A Cross Country State Championship)

Sebastian Romero, 15th (AAA 5A Cross Country State Championship)

Jonathan Mbugua, 16th (AAA 6A Cross Country State Championship)

Elijah Donoho, 17th (AAA 3A Cross Country State Championship)

Collins Ndungu, 49th (AAA 6A Cross Country State Championship)

400 Meters

Elijah Donoho, 3rd (AAA 3A Track and Field State Championship)

800 Meters

Corbett Stephenson, 2nd (AAA 5A Track and Field State Championship)

Elijah Donoho, 4th (AAA 3A Track and Field State Championship)

Ben Frederick, 10th (AAA 2A Track and Field State Championship)

1600 Meters

Ben Frederick, 3rd (AAA 2A Track and Field State Championship)

Ryan Lewis, 7th (AAA 4A Track and Field State Championship)

Jonathan Mbugua, 12th (AAA 6A Track and Field State Championship)

3200 Meters

Ryan Lewis, 5th (AAA 4A Track and Field State Championship)

Ben Frederick, 5th (AAA 2A Track and Field State Championship)

ABOUT THE SIGNEES

RYAN LEWIS - Pea Ridge, Ark.

Lewis has top-ten finishes in both the 1600 and the 3200 at the 2026 AAA 4A State Championships to go with 12 total top 10 finishes in cross country meets during his high school career.

After starting with Ozark Catholic Academy, Lewis moved to Pea Ridge HS and represented the Blackhawks in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

BEN FREDERICK - Tontitown, Ark.

Frederick finished second invididually at the 2025 AAA State Cross Country Championships with the Ozark Catholic Griffins after setting 16:54.75 as his PR earlier in the year.

He also dominated distance events at the 2026 2A state title meet, netting top-five finishes in the 1600 (3rd) and 3200 (5th) to go with a finish of 10th in the 800.

Frederick's high school trophy case with OCA includes three individual region titles in track and field as well as four team cross country championships.

CORBETT STEPHENSON - Siloam Springs, Ark.

With three individual track and field event wins and 19 top-fives, Stephenson joins after an impressive career with the Siloam Springs HS Panthers.

Alongside fellow NWACC commit Sebastian Romero, Stephenson was part of a 4x800-meter relay team that beat the school record twice in 2026.

Stephenson also won the 2022 5A West Conference Cross Country Championship as a freshman.

SEBASTIAN ROMERO - Siloam Springs, Ark.

A fellow Siloam Springs Panther, Romero collected four top-fives in the 800-meter run alone in 2026 as a senior, also grabbing third and fifth in 1600-meter events this season.

Across his high school career, Romero has finished in the top 10 in an 800-meter race 14 times, 11 of which were also top-five finishes.

Romero also competed for the Panthers in soccer.

ULISES PONCE - Springdale, Ark.

Sporting a 17:15.60 PR in the cross country 5K and a 4:57.89 1600 meters, Ponce will primarily contribute in cross country but also has outdoor track experience from Har-Ber in Springdale.

Ponce is a former teammate of NWACC throwing specialist Omar Medina from the 2025 track and field season with the Wildcats; Medina was recently NWACC's first representative at the 2026 NJCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.

TYLER ELLINGTON - Macon, Ga.

Ellington joins from Rutland High School in Macon, Ga., where he ran track and field and played football for the Hurricanes.

His personal bests on the track include a 23.61 in the 200-meter dash and a 53.52-second 400.

Ellington has also been highly successful in relays, contributing to the school records in 4x100 and 4x200 at Rutland and holding all-state honors in both.

COLLINS NDUNGU - Fayetteville, Ark.

Ndungu joins NWACC's distance program after high levels of success with Fayetteville High School, despite recently returning from a stress fracture.

With a pair of top-15 finishes in the 1600-meter run and a 19th-place finish at the 6A West Conference 3200-meter championship, Ndungu brings momentum with him from one of the state's largest athletics programs.

JONATHAN MBUGUA - Fayetteville, Ark.

A fellow Fayetteville HS grad, Mbugua's senior season was highlighted by landing 12th in the state of Arkansas at the 6A state meet in the 1600-meter run.

Mbugua enters with the team's best incoming times in the 1600 and 5000 as well as in cross country.

ELIJAH DONOHO - Lincoln, Ark.

With seven outright track and field wins, including six just in 2026, Elijah Donoho brings elite results at the AAA 3A level to NWACC this fall.

A highly versatile track athlete, Donoho has experience ranging from the 200-meter dash to cross country 5k events for the Lincoln HS Wolves. He will primarily run mid-distance events in track and field as well as the cross country slate for NWACC.

With a sub-two minute time in the 800-meter run, Donoho ranks in the top 50 statewide for 800-meter times this season, sitting 43rd. His PR of 1:59.93 was set April 9 in Pea Ridge, Ark. In 2025, Donoho came second in the 800 at the state meet and earned a silver medal for Lincoln.

Off the track, Donoho enjoys technology and was in the IT course at Stilwell High School's Indian Capital Technology Center in Stilwell, Okla. He was named the Vype Oklahoma Three Rivers Student Athlete of the Month in May 2025.

The current roster for next season is below, with more athletes still to be announced; incoming freshmen are denoted in italics.

Throws

Shot Put

• Omar Medina (52-11.5)

Jumps

Triple Jump

• Logan Bouzek, 43-9

Sprints 

100-Meter Dash 

• Logan Bouzek (11.79)
• Tyler Ellington (Macon, Ga., 12.27)

200-Meter Dash

• Tyler Ellington (Macon, Ga., 23.61)
• Logan Bouzek (24.16)
• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 24.61)
• Jakson Suit (24.76)

400-Meter Dash

• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 51.47)
• Corbett Stephenson (Siloam Springs, Ark., 52.51)
• Sebastian Romero (Siloam Springs, Ark., 53.41)
• Tyler Ellington (Macon, Ga., 53.52)
• Jakson Suit (55.56)

Distance

800-Meter Run

• Corbett Stephenson (Siloam Springs, Ark., 1:57.15)
• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 1:59.93)
• Sebastian Romero (Siloam Springs, Ark., 2:02.24)
• Jonathan Mbugua (Fayetteville, Ark., 2:03.14)
• Ryan Lewis (Pea Ridge, Ark., 2:07.95)
• Benjamin Venter (2:09.76)
• Collins Ndungu (Fayetteville, Ark., 2:11.03)
• Ben Frederick (Tontitown, Ark., 2:11.79)
• Ulises Ponce (Springdale, Ark., 2:19.68)

1500-Meter Run (incoming freshman times converted from 1600-meter run)

• Jonathan Mbugua (Fayetteville, Ark., 4:07.41)
• Ryan Lewis (Pea Ridge, Ark., 4:19.20)
• Benjamin Venter (4:21.02)
• Corbett Stephenson (Siloam Springs, Ark., 4:21.32)
• Sebastian Romero (Siloam Springs, Ark., 4:22.22)
• Ben Frederick (Tontitown, Ark., 4:24.87)
• Collins Ndungu (Fayetteville, Ark., 4:28.17)
• Ulises Ponce (Springdale, Ark., 4:32.17)
• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 4:39.22)

5000-Meter Run

• Jonathan Mbugua (Fayetteville, Ark., 16:15.97)
• Ryan Lewis (Pea Ridge, Ark., 16:37.77)
• Collins Ndungu (Fayetteville, Ark., 16:40.33)
• Sebastian Romero (Siloam Springs, Ark., 16:44.43)
• Corbett Stephenson (Siloam Springs, Ark., 16:50.94)
• Ben Frederick (Tontitown, Ark., 16:54.75)
• Ulises Ponce (Springdale, Ark., 17:15.60)
• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 18:19.43)

Cross Country 8K (incoming freshman times converted from 5K)

• Jonathan Mbugua (Fayetteville, Ark., 26:46)
• Ryan Lewis (Pea Ridge, Ark., 27:22)
• Collins Ndungu (Fayetteville, Ark., 27:25)
• Sebastian Romero (Siloam Springs, Ark., 27:32)
• Corbett Stephenson (Siloam Springs, Ark., 27:42)
• Ben Frederick (Tontitown, Ark., 27:48)
• Ulises Ponce (Springdale, Ark., 28:23)
• Benjamin Venter (28:47.7)
• Elijah Donoho (Lincoln, Ark., 30:08)

NEXT UP

More athletes will continue to be announced over the summer in advance of their arrival in August.