Arkansas men, Illinois women grab first-day lead at D-I indoor track and field championships

By Canadian Press on March 13, 2026.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas men and Illinois women sit on top after Friday’s opening day of the Division I men’s and women’s indoor track and field championships at Randal Tyson Track Center.

Arkansas’ men lead with 14 points, one more than both Virginia and Kansas. Texas A&M is fourth with 12 points and Kansas State follows with 10.

Ryan Johnson launched 84 feet, 1 1/2 inches to set a new meet record in the men’s weight throw and earn Iowa’s first title in the event.

Oregon’s Peyton Bair dominated the competition on Day 1 in the heptathlon with 3,675 points, only trailing collegiate record holder Kyle Garland’s pace from the 2023 indoor championships.

New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel edged fellow junior Marco Langon of Villanova to win the 5,000 meters. Samuel finished in 13 minutes, 36.58 seconds to Langon’s 13:36.98.

Kansas junior Ashton Barkdull won the pole vault, clearing a personal best 19 feet, 0 1/4 inches on his second try. Texas A&M senior Aleksandr Solovev finished second after clearing the height on this third attempt.

Reinhardt Harrison, Josiah Johnson, Tor Hotung-Davidsen and anchor Colin Sahlman led Northern Arizona to a first-place finish in the distance medley relay with a time of 9:19.95.

Tarleton State’s Likesh Sathyanathan leaped a personal best 26-11 1/4 to win the long jump. Runner-up De’Aundre Ward of Southern Miss fell short by 1/4 inch.

Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp ran the second fastest 60-meter hurdles in NCAA history, clocking in at 7.36 seconds during Friday’s preliminaries. Florida’s Grant Holloway set the record at 7.35 seconds in the 2019 indoor championships.

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On the women’s side, Illinois totaled 30 points to grab the first-day lead, 10 better than second-place Oregon. Florida (14), BYU (13) and Minnesota (10) round out the top five.

Freshman Liisa-Maria Lusti became the second Oregon woman to win the pentathlon — first since Brianne Theisen-Eaton in 2012 — with a season-best 4,498 points. Lusti outpaced Illinois’ JaCieonna Gero-Holt in the 800 meters by one spot to hold off her fellow freshman. Gero-Holt became the school’s highest finisher in the event with a school record point total of 4,466.

Illinois junior Sophia Beckmon won the long jump with a mark of 21-9 — after finishing fifth in the event last season. It placed the All-American second all-time in Illinois’ indoor long jump history.

BYU freshman Jane Hedengren cruised to a first-place finish in the 5,000 meters, setting a facility record with a time of 15:00.12.

Oregon anchor Wilma Nielsen pulled away over the final 1,600 meters to help Oregon win the distance medley relay with a time of 10:48.76. South Carolina finished second in 10:49.69. Juliet Cherubet ran the first leg for the Ducks, followed by Lakely Doht-Barron and Silan Ayyildz.

Minnesota’s Anthonett Nabwe won the women’s weight throw with the sixth longest heave in collegiate history at 82-5.

Both championships conclude Saturday.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

The Associated Press

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