EUGENE, Ore. – Historic Hayward Field awaits the Florida track & field teams as they are set to battle for a pair of national titles at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., from June 10-13.
The men, who will compete on Wednesday, June 10, and Friday, June 12, will be looking for their first outdoor title since the 2024 season, while the women, who compete on Thursday, June 11, and Saturday, June 13, are on the hunt for their first championship since 2022.
Leading the Way
Florida’s women’s track & field team is sending 17 entries to Eugene for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, tied for the most in the nation with Texas A&M, as well as the second-most entries in school history behind the 2023 squad that sent 18. For the fifth-straight year, and 11th time since Mike Holloway became the women’s head coach in 2008, the Gators are sending more than 10 entries to compete in Tracktown USA for an NCAA title. The men are sending 11 entries to the 2026 championships, tied for eighth-most in the country.
The Gator Standard
Since Holloway became the head men’s and women’s coach in 2008, the Gators have won 14 NCAA track & field titles overall, second only to Oregon’s 17. The men have won 12 NCAA titles since 2003, five more than Oregon and Arkansas (7) in second.
A Title for the Crown
The Florida women are looking to become just the second program to win their conference Triple Crown (cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field) and an NCAA Outdoor Track & Field title in the same season. They would join Arkansas, which has accomplished the feat twice.
Maintaining a Dynasty
Holloway took over the men’s track & field program in 2003 and raised the bar for the Gators. The Florida men have finished in the top two of the indoor and outdoor championships 26 times since then. Arkansas holds the second-most top two finishes during that period with 13, while Oregon boasts 10.
Prime Position
Ranked No. 2 in the latest USTFCCCA TFRI, Florida’s women have tied their highest ranking entering the outdoor championships since the TFRI was created in 2008, as they were No. 2 in 2023 as well. The men enter the outdoor championships ranked No. 8.
World Class
Alida van Daalen is having a historic senior season, which has seen her record three of the top-10 marks in collegiate history in the discus. Her personal-best of 69.31m/227-4 is not just the collegiate lead and school record, but third-best collegiate throw of all-time and the No. 3 toss in the world this year. Van Daalen is looking to give the Orange & Blue their first women’s discus title.
History in the Discus
For the first time in school history, Florida will be represented by three women’s discus throwers at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (Alida van Daalen, Gracelyn Leiseth, Akari Isaac). In the outdoor history of Florida women’s throws, this is just the third time that three athletes will represent the Gators in the same event. The trio joins Jukina Dickerson, Erin Gilreath and Candice Scott who qualified in the hammer throw during the 2003 season, and Lori Mercer, Solvi Nybu-Watson and Clarinda Wilson in the javelin in 1986. This is also just the second time that multiple discus athletes will travel to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with the last coming in 1987 from Janet Matthews and Colleen Rosensteel.
Braun Goes Sub-44
At the NCAA East Prelim, Justin Braun ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 400m of 43.99, joining Champion Allison as the only Gators to record sub-44 400m (43.70). His heat is one of just two collegiate races in history to feature multiple athletes under 44 seconds, as Alabama’s Ogazi ended at 43.82. Braun is currently third in the world in the 400m.
NCAA Championship Qualifiers by Year // Entries by Year
Qualifiers: 265 men, 197 women (462 athletes) // Entries: 280 men’s, 214 women’s (494 entries)
2026: 13 men, 16 women (29 athletes) // 11 men’s, 17 women’s (28 entries)
2025: 14 men, 9 women (23 athletes) // 8 men’s, 11 women’s (19 entries)
2024: 12 men, 8 women (20 athletes) // 14 men’s, 11 women’s (25 entries)
2023: 9 men, 14 women (23 athletes) // 12 men’s, 18 women’s (30 entries)
2022: 9 men, 13 women (22 athletes) // 9 men’s, 16 women’s (25 entries)
2021: 9 men, 9 women (18 athletes) // 10 men’s, 8 women’s (18 entries)
2020: No Championship, COVID-19
2019: 13 men, 10 women (23 athletes) // 16 men’s, 9 women’s (25 entries)
2018: 12 men, 10 women (22 athletes) // 17 men’s, 13 women’s (30 entries)
2017: 11 men, 11 women (22 athletes) // 13 men’s, 13 women’s (26 entries)
2016: 12 men, 14 women (26 athletes) // 12 men’s, 13 women’s (25 entries)
2015: 12 men, 11 women (23 athletes) // 13 men’s, 12 women’s (25 entries)
2014: 13 men, 12 women (25 athletes) // 15 men’s, 13 women’s (28 entries)
2013: 13 men, 14 women (27 athletes) // 13 men’s, 16 women’s (29 entries)
2012: 10 men, 11 women (21 athletes) // 10 men’s, 10 women’s (20 entries)
2011: 13 men, 11 women (24 athletes) // 17 men’s, 9 women’s (26 entries)
2010: 12 men, 7 women (19 athletes) // 13 men’s, 8 women’s (21 entries)^
2009: 11 men, 7 women (18 athletes) // 14 men’s, 8 women’s (22 entries)
2008: 14 men, 10 women (24 athletes) // 12 men’s, 9 women’s (21 entries)**
2007: 10 men // 9 men’s entries
2006: 8 men // 9 men’s entries
2005: 11 men // 10 men’s entries
2004: 14 men // 15 men’s entries
2003: 10 men // 8 men’s entries
^ denotes change to two preliminary meets with top 48 athletes per event, instead of qualifying for one of four regional meets via specific entry marks
**denotes Holloway’s first year as women’s head coach
Day One Entries (all times ET)
Time
Event
Athletes
Heat/Flight
5:30 PM
Men’s Hammer Throw
Basel Abosina
Flight 1
8:21 PM
Men’s 1500m – Semifinal
Oussama Allaoui
Heat 1
9:15 PM
Men’s Javelin Throw
Leikel Cabrera Gay
Flight 2
9:40 PM
Men’s Long Jump
Temoso Masikane
Flight 2
9:41 PM
Men’s 400m – Semifinal
Justin Braun
Heat 2
10:10 PM
Men’s Shot Put
Jarno van Daalen
Flight 2
10:14 PM
Men’s 400m Hurdles – Semifinal
Vance Nilsson
Heat 2
10:56 PM
Men’s 10,000m – Final
Kelvin Cheruiyot
-
11:36 PM
Men’s 4x400m Relay – Semifinal
Braun, Horton-Mims, Smith-Band
Spikes, Nilsson (alt), Wright (alt)
Heat 1
Day Two Entries (all times ET)
5:30 PM
Women’s Hammer Throw
Imani Washington
Flight 2
8:21 PM
Women’s 1500m – Semifinal
Claire Stegall, Tia Wilson
Heat 2, 1
9:25 PM
Women’s 100m – Semifinal
Gabrielle Matthews
Heat 2
9:41 PM
Women’s 400m – Semifinal
Quincy Penn
Heat 2
9:58 PM
Women’s 800m – Semifinal
Layla Haynes
Heat 3
10:10 PM
Women’s Shot Put
Alida van Daalen
Flight 2
10:29 PM
Women’s 200m – Semifinal
Gabrielle Matthews
Heat 3
10:56 PM
Women’s 10,000m – Final
Hilda Olemomoi
-
11:36 PM
Women’s 4x400m Relay – Semifinal
Campbell, Matthews, Penn,
Sutton, Haynes (alt), Wright (alt)
Heat 2
Day Three Entries (all times ET)
2:45 PM
Heptathlon 100m Hurdles
Pauline Bikembo
Heat 1
3:45 PM
Heptathlon High Jump
Pauline Bikembo
Flight 2
5:15 PM
Men’s Discus Throw
Jarno van Daalen
Flight 2
5:45 PM
Heptathlon Shot Put
Pauline Bikembo
Flight 2
8:10 PM
Men’s Triple Jump
Jaden Lippett
Flight 1
8:12 PM
Men’s 1500m – Final
TBD
-
9:02 PM
Men’s 400m – Final
TBD
-
9:27 PM
Men’s 400m Hurdles – Final
TBD
-
9:43 PM
Heptathlon 200m
Pauline Bikembo
Heat 2
10:21 PM
Men’s 4x400m Relay – Final
TBD
-
Day Four Entries (all times ET)
2:30 PM
Women’s Discus Throw
Alida van Daalen, Gracelyn Leiseth,
Akari Isaac
Flight 2, 2, 1
5:30 PM
Heptathlon Long Jump
Pauline Bikembo
Flight 2
6:45 PM
Heptathlon Javelin Throw
Pauline Bikembo
Flight 1
8:10 PM
Women’s Triple Jump
Asia Phillips
Flight 2
8:12 PM
Women’s 1500m – Final
TBD
-
8:52 PM
Women’s 100m – Final
TBD
-
9:02 PM
Women’s 400m – Final
TBD
-
9:14 PM
Women’s 800m – Final
TBD
-
9:37 PM
Women’s 200m – Final
TBD
-
9:43 PM
Heptathlon 800m
Pauline Bikembo
-
9:55 PM
Women’s 5000m – Final
Judy Chepkoech, Hilda Olemomoi
-
10:21 PM
Women’s 4x400m Relay – Final
TBD
-