ACCHS alum Keegan Lott returns to NAIA Championships again

Atchison County will get one more chance to follow a hometown thrower on college track’s biggest stage when ACCHS alum Keegan Lott returns to the NAIA Championships for Kansas Wesleyan University.

Lott is set for his third trip to the national meet, which runs May 20-22 at Karl Straus Track on the campus of UNC Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina. With Kansas Wesleyan listing him as a senior majoring in personal training, this final postseason run carries extra weight for local fans who have watched his progress since his days at Atchison County Community High School in Effingham.

His route back to nationals was built on a busy and productive spring. At the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference outdoor championships on April 30 and May 1, Lott placed sixth in the shot put, fifth in the discus, seventh in the hammer throw and third in the javelin. That spread across four events shows the kind of versatility that has kept his name in the conference mix and helped extend a career that has lasted beyond one specialty.

Lott also added another hammer-throw result earlier in the season, finishing eighth at the Spire Distance Carnival and Team Challenge with a mark of 40.25 meters. Taken together, those marks suggest he has become more dependable across the throwing schedule, not just in one event, which is part of why he is back in the national field again.

The NAIA’s 2026 meet will be the 74th annual men’s championship and the 45th annual women’s championship, underscoring how hard it is to reach this level more than once, much less three times. For Atchison County readers, that repeated success makes Lott’s return more than a roster update. It is a last look at a local athlete who turned an ACCHS beginning into a Kansas Wesleyan career built on consistency, adaptability and steady improvement.

For current throwers in Atchison County, Lott’s path sets a clear benchmark. He showed that national-caliber results can grow from years of technique work, patience and the willingness to contribute across multiple events. That is what makes this trip to Asheville feel like a farewell worth watching closely.