The University of Tennessee track and field program will send 13 individual athletes and two relay teams to the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor National Championships. The event is scheduled for March 13–14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Athletes needed to be ranked in the top 16 nationally in their events to qualify for the championship, while relay teams had to be among the top 12. Tennessee secured a total of 19 entries across men’s and women’s competitions.
A notable achievement for Tennessee is qualifying five men’s pole vaulters for the championships, which marks a first in collegiate history. This group includes SEC champion Ismaila Sawaneh, who achieved a season-best vault of 5.78 meters (18-11.5). All five vaulters have cleared at least 18 feet during this season.
On the men’s team, Traunard Folson and Davonte Howell both qualified in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. JL Van Rensburg will compete in shot put, while Aidan Ifkovits will take part in weight throw. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team earned qualification with a school-record time of 3:02.46, which stands fourth nationally.
For the women’s team, Esther Joseph qualified for both the 200-meter and 400-meter events. Javonya Valcourt also made it into the championship for the 400 meters, while Myreanna Bebe will compete in the 60-meter hurdles. The women’s relay team advanced with a season-best time of 3:29.31, and Mya Strahm qualified for pole vault after clearing a school record height of 4.47 meters (14-8).
“Tennessee’s school-record time of 3:02.46 in the 4×400-meter relay ranks fourth nationally and earned qualification to the NCAA meet.”
