The NCAA revealed the list of qualifiers for the 2026 Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 4, with athletes from multiple universities advancing to the national meets in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for Division I and Virginia Beach, Virginia, for Division II. Several standout performers earned spots based on top season marks. The Division I event is set for March 13-14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The announcement highlighted numerous athletes across divisions who met qualifying standards through performances during the indoor season, which ran from late November to early March. In Division I, the University of Northern Iowa's Carter Morton secured a berth in the heptathlon with a career-best score of 6,054 points at the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational in December, ranking fourth nationally. Morton, who placed fifth in the event last year, will compete March 13-14, including events like the 60-meter dash, long jump, and 1,000-meter run.
The University of Missouri's Sam Innes qualified in the men's weight throw, seeded 11th with a school-record throw of 75 feet, 4 inches at the Bob Teel Invitational in January. Cal Poly's Lexi Evans earned a spot in the women's pole vault with a national sixth-ranked clearance of 14 feet, 9.5 inches at the Husky Classic, breaking her own school record. Tatiana Cornejo from the same program qualified in the mile with a 4:29.90 at the Saucony Battle for Boston, the 22nd-fastest time nationally.
Iowa State University secured six entries, including Rachel Joseph in the 400 meters (No. 6 nationally at 51.25), Betty Kipkore in the 3,000 meters (No. 8 seed), and men's 5,000 meters runners Rodgers Kiplimo (No. 10) and Robin Kwemoi Bera (No. 11). The women's distance medley relay team, featuring Makayla Clark, Joseph, Emma Vorpagel, and Kipkore, qualified with a school-record 10:44.11, the No. 4 seed.
UCF's 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Janiah Pulliam, Genelle Stephens, Twaneise Johnson, and Jazmen Newberry, advanced with a 3:29.21 at the Tyson Invitational, ranking 14th nationally. Other Division I programs like Kansas (five athletes), Minnesota (five women in 800m, triple jump, shot put, weight throw), North Dakota State (Zach McGlynn in heptathlon), Providence (Maeve O'Neill in 800m), SIUE (Grant Milbrath), and Rutgers (three athletes) also had qualifiers.
In Division II, Cedarville University saw a record 13 athletes qualify, including Sydney Diedrich, Audrianna Enns, and Michael Braxton. Fayetteville State's Faith Kiplimo advanced in the mile with a 4:51.07 season best. Winona State's Ella Schueler qualified in the triple jump, and Central Washington's Elise Hopper, Drew Klein, Colton Magruder, and Emy Ntekpere earned spots. Live coverage for Division I will air on ESPN networks.
