GORHAM, Maine – Freshman Ryker Paradis (Lewiston, Maine) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' men's track & field team will compete in the shot put at the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Track & Field National Championships on Friday, May 22 at 4:00 pm at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
 
Paradis is seeded 17th and will be competing in the first flight with the competitors seeded 12th-22nd. He placed 19th in the shot put at the Indoor National Championship Meet and is the lone freshman in the field. Paradis picked up right where he left off from the indoor season by breaking the program outdoor shot put record in his first outdoor meet with a mark of 16.75m to place second at the Emory Thrills in the Hills Invitational. He then broke the record again with a throw of 17.25m to win the event at the Southern New Hampshire University Ed Daniels Classic.
 
This season has also seen Paradis win the Maine State titles in both the shot put and discus, the Division III New England title in the shot put, and the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) discus title. Paradis was named the LEC Field Rookie of the Year after placing second in the shot put, second in the discus and third in the javelin at the LEC Championships. He also won the Frederick D Tootel Memorial Award as the most valuable field performer at the Pine Tree State Classic and was named the LEC Field Rookie of the Week four times and the Field Athlete of the Week once.
 
Paradis will be competing in a loaded field that includes four returning First Team All-Americans from last year's meet. Cortland State's Isaiah Brunache, Olivet's Owen Fremeau, Concordia-Moorhead's Cooper Folkestad and Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Gage Stankiewicz. The field also consists of returning Second Team All-Americans Karter Rashke from Wisconsin-Stout, Samuel Clements from Nebraska Wesleyan and Dakota Hoffman from Dubuque.
 
First-Team All-America status is awarded to finishers 1-8 (individual events and relays) in each event at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. All finalists in an eight-person final automatically earn First-Team All-America status, regardless of place and participation in the final round of the event in question.
 
Second-Team All-America status is awarded to finishers 9-16 (individual events) and 9-12 (relays) in each event at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Preliminary round placings are used for classification for events in which fewer than 12 participate in the final round. Athletes and relays must have a valid mark in at least one round to earn All-American status. E.g., those who do not finish, no height, foul three attempts, or are disqualified are not eligible for All-America status if no other valid mark from a previous round exists.