The 2026 indoor season for Florida track and field has already gone significantly better than last year. If 10-spot improvements for the men’s and women’s teams at the SEC Indoor Championships – resulting in the ninth indoor title in program history for the women – weren’t evidence enough, the startlists for the NCAA Indoor Championships tell the story of a resurgent program.
Nine entries will represent the Gator men on their third trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, of the indoor season, while the SEC champion women will send 10 entries back to the familiar confines of the Randal Tyson Track Center. Freshman Temoso Masikane and senior Hilda Olemomoi will compete in two individual events, while Florida also qualified three of four possible relay teams. It’s a stark turnaround from last season, where the Gators scored just eight points at this meet from a total of five entries.
“Focus on us, focus on what we can do,” is head coach Mike Holloway’s message to his team leading into these championships. “In the team meeting, the talk was to control the controllables.”
Here’s how all 19 of the Gators’ entries stack up on the national stage, where the top eight finishers score points for the team:
Positioned to score
Men’s 4x400-meter relay: 2nd, 3:02.15
Florida’s highest-ranked entry into this meet is one that has always been a strength of the program, even standing up as the Gators’ only entry on the men’s side last season. The quartet of seniors Wanya McCoy and Justin Braun, sophomore Nick Spikes and freshman Jayden Horton-Mims ran the third-fastest time in program history at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14, with Braun’s 44.99-second split proving to be the fastest on the day. They posted a slower time at the SEC Championships, finishing fourth in an uncharacteristically physical heat, but have proven they’re more than capable of running well enough to score significant points for the Gators. A win would mark Florida’s fifth in the event and first since 2005.
Wanya McCoy, Men’s 200 meters: 3rd, 20.31
McCoy is on the national stage for the first time since the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2024, and his strong showing over conference weekend means he’s once again ready to bring the heat to the nation’s best. McCoy is only one of two athletes in the NCAA to have run faster than 20.40 multiple times this season, doing so in both rounds of the SEC Championships. The other is USC senior Garrett Kaalund, the prohibitive favorite and third-fastest man in world history with his 20.06-second clocking at the Big Ten Championships. If the Bahamian can be the next man across the line after Kaalund, he’ll record his best-ever individual finish at a national championship, which is currently a fourth-place finish over 60 meters from 2024.
Jarno van Daalen, Men’s shot put: 3rd, 20.14 meters
The Dutch freshman had a breakthrough performance to win SEC silver, adding well over 50 centimeters to his personal best with a gargantuan heave that landed him at No. 3 on the UF all-time list. A freshman hasn’t earned first-team All-America honors in this event indoors since 2018, but van Daalen will be almost guaranteed to break that streak if he can manage another effort in excess of 20 meters in Fayetteville. Like Kaalund in the 200 meters, Ole Miss senior Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan appears to be an overwhelming favorite, holding the national lead by over a meter, but van Daalen, the 2024 World Under-20 champion, could very well claim silver behind the Rebels’ star for the second-straight meet.
Women’s 4x400-meter relay: 4th, 3:28.37
After going nearly two calendar years without contesting a women’s 4x400-meter relay at all, this year’s Florida squad has made an emphatic statement in its return to national relevance. Freshmen Sydney Sutton, Tyra Cox and Malia Campbell and junior Quincy Penn put up the second-fastest time in program history at the Tyson Invitational last month. They were spared from running the relay at the SEC Championships, given that Florida had already clinched the team title, but Cox and Sutton both ran significant personal bests in the open 400 meters.
“They’re talented, and they’re young,” Holloway said. “We saw some things in the recruiting process that we thought they could be special, and nothing they’ve done has surprised us. Nothing at all.”
Justin Braun, Men’s 400 meters: 4th, 45.30
Braun ran a half-second personal best in the qualifying round at the conference championship to earn the second individual appearance of his career at the NCAA Championships. He didn’t run quite as well in the final, finishing fifth as a result of not trusting his race model, Holloway said. The men’s 400 meters is one of the strongest events on the schedule at NCAAs, with Georgia freshman Jonathan Simms and Alabama junior Samuel Ogazi both running faster than 45 seconds this season. However, Braun proved with a strong performance at the strongest conference championship meet — seven of the eight fastest men in the country hail from the SEC — that he’s more than capable of putting up points for the Gators.
Kelvin Cheruiyot, Men’s 5,000 meters: 4th, 13:15.57
Cheruiyot torched the Florida school record books this indoor season, taking 11 seconds off the program-best 3,000-meter mark and 26 seconds off the previous 5,000-meter best. His strong performance at the Husky Classic in Seattle on Feb. 14 slots him in as one of the fastest qualifiers in the nation. The Kenyan freshman received a crash course in championship racing at the SEC Championships, finishing third in the 5,000-meter final.
“That’s Kelvin’s novice kind of showing through,” assistant distance coach Will Palmer said. “Tactically, he really didn’t navigate that race very well, but I think he learned a lot about why certain decisions are so important, and I thought he applied those things much better in the 3K [3,000 meters].”
Cheruiyot proved during the cross country season that he has the aerobic engine to run with the best of the best, but a tactical championship race on the track could come down to pure footspeed that might prove more challenging for him to match. This makes it all the more important that Cheruiyot was able to make racing mistakes in a lower-stakes competition, because he’ll need to be tactically on point to mix it up for the win.
Temoso Masikane, Men’s long jump: 5th, 8.11 meters
Masikane came to Gainesville as one of the most talented recruits in program history, having jumped an African Under-18 record of 8.06 meters in 2023, and he’s lived up to expectations. His 8.11-meter leap from the Tyson Invitational ranks fifth in the vaunted Florida all-time list and immediately inserted the South African freshman into national contention. He didn’t have a stellar day by his standards at the conference meet, finishing sixth at 7.79 meters, but the fact that even an off day is good enough to score SEC points bodes well for his potential in a return to Fayetteville. It’s also worth noting that there will be many familiar faces on the runway at the NCAA Championships, as six of the 15 other national qualifiers compete for SEC schools.
Alida van Daalen, Women’s shot put: 6th, 18.13 meters
After a 2025 season plagued by shoulder issues, van Daalen has once again managed to find her best form as the postseason ramps up. Her mark to win SEC bronze was her first throw to crack the 18-meter barrier since May 23, 2024. Her resume at the NCAA Indoor Championships features a fourth-place finish in 2023 and fifth place in 2024, and the Florida school record holder is sure to be looking for another All-America honor to add to her trophy case.
Jayden Horton-Mims, Men’s 400 meters: 7th, 45.36
Horton-Mims entered conference weekend an agonizing hundredth-of-a-second outside of a national qualifying spot, and made short work of earning his spot in Fayetteville with an indoor personal best in the qualifying round. His 45.36-second clocking made him the fourth-fastest Under-20 athlete in world history. Like Braun, he left his best race in the prelim, finishing eighth in the final. If he can flip that trend, the Philadelphia native certainly has the talent to start his collegiate career off as an All-American.
“Jayden is an incredibly talented freshman,” Holloway said. “It just speaks to our culture, it speaks to what we do every day in practice… We get a little bit better, and a little bit better, and then they’re at their best when it counts at the conference meet.”
Hilda Olemomoi, Women’s 5,000 meters: 8th, 15:08.61
Olemomoi is one of the most decorated runners in NCAA history, having garnered 12 All-America honors across the indoor, outdoor and cross country national championships. The senior will need to lean on every bit of experience she has as she readies to take on the fastest 5,000-meter field in NCAA history. It took a run of 15:16.93 just to qualify for this meet, a time that would have ranked ninth in the nation last season and fifth a year before that. Olemomoi’s season looks very different leading into this meet than it did last year, as she comes into these championships fresh off a pair of SEC silvers and with a very consistent block of training behind her.
“I think she’s picking up steam as we go,” Palmer said. “When she gets on the line at nationals, she’s gonna be as confident as she’s ever been, and she’s as fit – if not fitter – than she’s ever been.”
On the bubble
Gabby Matthews, Women’s 200 meters: 9th, 22.87
Matthews is once again displaying her uncanny ability to peak during the postseason. Last outdoor season, she raced her way to becoming a first-team All-American in the 200 meters by recording the three fastest times of her career in her final three races of the collegiate season. This season, she ran a massive indoor personal best of 22.87 at the SEC Championships to earn another ticket to nationals with a performance that made her the third-fastest Gator ever. The Jamaican senior will be looking to put down another impressive performance to become the first Florida woman to score points in this event since Kyra Jefferson finished runner-up a decade ago.
Women’s distance medley relay: 9th, 10:46.45
The quartet of senior Beth Morley, Campbell, junior Layla Haynes and freshman Claire Stegall ran its way into nationals in its very last opportunity, finishing runner-up at the SEC Championships to South Carolina. They took nearly six seconds off the previous program record, with much of that difference being made up on Stegall’s aggressive anchor leg. With the need to run a fast time out the window, the national final in this can sometimes play out more tactically. This typically means that the importance of the first three legs is somewhat decreased as it comes down to a kicker’s battle between anchors.
It’s impossible to know exactly who will be bringing their respective relays home until the baton is handed off for the final time, but BYU senior Riley Chamberlain is likely to be Stegall’s toughest challenger. Chamberlain has anchored the Cougars to back-to-back national titles in this event and broke the collegiate record in the mile last month. With important points on the line for the Gators, it could set the tone for a successful weekend if Stegall can hold her own in the stacked field.
Claire Stegall, Women’s mile: 10th, 4:25.91
Much of what can be said about Stegall’s outlook in the relay can also be said about her outlook in the mile, as it features many of the same characters. The Tennessee native is the fastest miler in SEC history after her historic run at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14, but came up just .09 seconds short of capturing the conference crown to South Carolina junior Salma Elbadra. Despite the finish, Palmer was impressed with what he saw out of his star freshman.
“Claire’s really adapted in different situations,” Palmer said. “What she’s showing is that we can have a game plan, but she’s really good at calling an audible if it needs to be done.”
Being able to navigate a tumultuous race that doesn’t go according to plan is an invaluable skill in a national championship race, and Stegall will need to mind her P’s and Q’s just to make Saturday’s final.
“We just approach it from the mindset that, ‘Okay, Claire’s running the mile final on Friday,’” Palmer said. “She’s gonna take all her energy, all her finals mojo into that race, and if she puts together a great race, she’s gonna get the opportunity to run that final on Saturday.”
Sydney Sutton, Women’s 400 meters: 11th, 51.46
Despite also qualifying in the 200 meters, Sutton has decided to devote all of her energy to the quarter-mile after her breakthrough performance at the SEC Championships. Sutton is more prepared for her first collegiate championship meet than most freshmen, as she raced nine of her 15 competitors on conference weekend and won the high school national title last March at New Balance Nationals Indoor. She showed a preference for hitting the front of the race early and trying to hold on over the closing stages, and it could be that kind of all-or-nothing racing mentality that she’ll need to once again score for the Gators.
Temoso Masikane, Men’s triple jump: 13th, 16.35 meters
While Masikane was already comfortably qualified in his specialty event heading into the SEC Championships, he needed a sizable personal best to punch a national ticket in the triple jump. He did just that in the fifth round, clearing the 16-meter barrier for the first time in his career. He may be seeded 13th, but only 16 centimeters separate Masikane and the fourth-best performer in the country this season. If he finds a way to keep his conference momentum rolling, he will end up scoring significant, surprising points for the Gators in the team race.
“He picked up the triple jump like March or April of last year,” associate jumps coach Nic Petersen said. “He’ll even tell you, ‘I kind of just went to track meets and triple jumped,’ he didn’t really practice. We’ve done a little bit more than he’s used to, but that’s definitely the event where he’s still a rookie.”
Judy Chepkoech, Women’s 5,000 meters: 13th, 15:12.57
Prior to the SEC Championships, Chepkoech hadn’t raced since her season opener in December. Palmer says the sophomore had an injury that was originally thought to be severe, but it turned out to be “relatively minor.” She showed no signs of rust in her first races in nearly three months, finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters and sixth with a personal best in the 3,000 meters. Chepkoech is a two-time All-American in cross country, but this will be her first national final on the track and is sure to be the most tactically challenging race of her career.
“Her racing instincts… are really good,” Palmer said. “She’s good at finding a way to beat people that she’s in tight races with… You want to find a way to finish sixth or fifth instead of eighth or ninth, and I think Judy’s really good at doing that.”
Hilda Olemomoi, Women’s 3,000 meters: 14th, 8:46.33
While the longer race has historically been Olemomoi’s stronger event, her 3,000-meter silver at the SEC Championships was even more encouraging than what she managed in the 5,000 meters. Racing Alabama junior Doris Lemngole, the national record holder, Olemomoi hung close to her former teammate over a blistering final two laps, as the pair covered the final 400 meters in 62 seconds. Lemngole still took a comfortable victory, but Olemomoi’s ability to change gears in that fashion at the end of a race that was already close to her personal best pace could bode well given the sit-and-kick style that typifies racing at the NCAA Championships.
“The most encouraging thing was she just got caught up in the race and gave herself a chance,” Palmer said. “She actually kind of strained her hamstring in the last 200 meters, but her body was just kind of not prepared to run that hard. She let her mind go somewhere it hadn’t gone in a long time.”
Miguel Pantojas, Men’s 800 meters: 15th, 1:46.49
Pantojas has strung together the three best indoor 800-meter races of his career over the past month to qualify for his first national championship. His qualifying time came from the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14, where he ran an absolute personal best to finish third in an impressive field. He then showcased impressive racing acumen at the SEC Championships, winning his qualifying heat in a controlled effort before finishing sixth in the final. The junior from Oviedo, Florida, was in second at the bell before being passed on the last lap, so he could factor into the team points race if he can manage a stronger close.
Asia Phillips, Women’s triple jump: 15th, 13.33 meters
Phillips nearly got bumped out of a national qualifying spot over the course of conference weekend despite winning an SEC bronze, but she was still safe when the dust finally settled. The sophomore from Ontario has yet to miss a national championship in her career, finishing 10th indoors and ninth outdoors last season. If she continues her trend of improving by one spot, she’ll score the first national points of her collegiate career. The women’s event is just as tight as the men’s triple jump, with Phillips seeded 15th and Illinois freshman Romi Tamir seeded seventh but separated by just 17 centimeters. If Phillips can manage something in the area of her 13.55-meter personal best from 2023 – the Canadian Under-20 record – she should earn All-America accolades.
The 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships will take place at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas from Mar. 13-14.
Contact Paul Hof-Mahoney at phof-mahoney@alligator.org and follow him on X at @phofmahoney.
Paul is a senior in his fourth semester on the track and field/cross country beat for The Alligator. In his free time, you can increasingly see him jogging around Gainesville or endlessly falling deeper down the rabbit hole that is track Twitter.
