Behind blistering runs from Justin Braun and Wanya McCoy, Florida’s sprint squad delivered one of its strongest showings of the season, propelling the Gators to a third-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Sprints
On Friday, Florida’s sprinters showed out, with Wanya McCoy, Justin Braun and Jayden Horton-Mims all qualifying for Saturday action.
McCoy was able to place first in his heat in the men’s 200-meter. McCoy took a quick lead off the block, with a start that led to a 20.40 dash and third-place finish overall.
McCoy followed his qualifying performance up with a stellar 20.17-second run on Saturday, a significant jump from his previous personal best of 20.31. McCoy also cemented himself in Gator history, becoming the Florida record holder.
However, the senior came second, just behind Southern California’s Garrett Kaalund, who ran a blistering sub-20.
Kaalund’s 19.95 set a collegiate record and made him the first man in 30 years to break 20 seconds indoors.
In Friday's 400-meter, two Gators ran, and two Gators qualified. Jayden Horton-Mims’ 45.83-second run gave him an eighth-place finish and a spot in the final.
However, the star of Friday was Justin Braun. The senior ran a 44.77 400-meter dash, shattering his previous personal best of 45.30 and placing him at ninth on the NCAA All-Time list. Braun became just the third runner to go under 45 seconds in the NCAA this year.
On Saturday, Braun continued the momentum.
Braun was able to add a second-place finish for Florida by setting another personal best time of 44.67. Five runners set new personal bests in Saturday’s competition, including Alabama’s Samuel Ogazi, who won behind a 44.57-second sprint.
Horton-Mims followed behind him with an eighth-place finish and a 46.
Throws
In throws, Florida was led by Jarno Van Daalen in the men’s shot put. Following a spectacular showing in the SEC Championships, Van Daalen looked poised for another strong showing on Saturday.
Van Daalen was able to add a seventh-place finish and a 19.68-meter toss in a stacked competition.
Seven competitors notched throws over 20 meters, along with six personal best performances.
Distance
In the men’s 5000-meter, Kelvin Cheruiyot finished his indoor season with a 13:51.11, placing him 11th overall. The race was tight at the top, with three runners within a second of each other. Ultimately, New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel took home a win with his 13:36.58.
Jumps
Temoso Masikane finished out his solid season with the Gators with a sixth-place finish in the men’s long jump. Masikane leapt 8.04 meters, good for a sixth-place finish
Relays
The Gators closed out the indoor season with a 3:04.04 4x400 relay, placing them fifth overall in a tightly contested race. Florida came in just behind South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @LoganDMcBride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and a Spring 2026 track and field reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
