Hawkeyes Set for NCAA Championships in Eugene

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa track and field qualified nine entries, including three relays, to the final site of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, June 10-13. 

The ESPN Family of Networks will carry televised coverage of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships all four days. Coverage begins each night at 7 p.m. (CT) on either ESPN or ESPN2. All events can be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).

The championships begin with men’s competition on Wednesday, June 10. Action will alternate daily from men’s events to women’s events, concluding on Saturday, June 13 with the women’s finals. Full meet information can be found here.

MEET THE QUALIFIERS
Times below are listed in CT.
Men’s 400 Meters
David Akhalu
(SF: Wednesday 8:41 PM | F: Friday 8:02 PM)
A freshman from Ogun State, Nigeria, Akhalu will make his NCAA Championships debut after earning an auto-bid at the NCAA West regional meet. Akhalu was eighth in the quarterfinals and ran 45.36 to punch his ticket to Eugene. He is one of five freshmen to qualify in the 400 and will enter as the No. 20 seed.

Women’s 400 Meters
Chioma Nwachukwu
(SF: Thursday 8:41 PM | F: Saturday 8:02 PM)
A sophomore from Asaba, Nigeria, Nwachukwu secured an automatic qualifying time of 51.48 in the 400 meters to earn her place at Hayward Field. It is the first time that Nwachukwu has qualified to the national meet as an individual. Her season best is 51.24, which she set at the Tom Jones Memorial. Nwachukwu’s time sets her as the No. 18 seed. Last season in Eugene, Nwachukwu anchored Iowa’s 4x4 to a sixth-place finish and first-team All-America honors. 

Women’s 800 Meters
Rosemary Arthur
(SF: Thursday 8:58 PM | F: Saturday 8:14 PM)
Arthur is set to make her D1 NCAA Championships debut in the women’s 800 meters. Prior to becoming a Hawkeye, Arthur competed in the NJCAA D1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2024 and 2025 at Colby CC. The junior from Sekondi, Ghana, earned her spot in Eugene with a qualifying time of 2:01.88, a personal best that ranks second all-time in Iowa program history. She is the No. 21 seed.

Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
Luke Knepp
(SF: Wednesday 7:38 PM | F: Friday 7:24 PM)
Knepp ran one of Iowa’s best distance races in recent history, updating his own school record at the NCAA First Rounds and becoming Iowa’s first steeplechase qualifier since 2021. Knepp’s 8:30.52 was fifth at the regional meet and earned him the auto qualification after placing third in heat two. It will be Knepp’s first appearance at the national meet. He owns the 10th-fastest seed time among qualifiers.  

Men’s 4x100 Relay
Jaylin Holmes, Darwin Jimenez, Jordan Gross, David Akhalu
(SF: Wednesday 7:05 PM | F: Friday 7:02 PM)
Iowa’s 4x100 team of Holmes, Jimenez, Gross and Akhalu grouped up for the first time this season and punched its ticket to Eugene with a 38.99 finish in Fayetteville. The time was the third-fastest in program history. The quartet secured the auto-bid after placing third in heat one. Iowa’s alternates for the 4x100 will be Vaughn DeVaughn III, Landon Fontenot, Olaolu Olatunde and Kalen Walker. The Hawkeyes enter as the No. 18 seed. 

Men’s 4x400 Relay
Landon Fontenot, Zidane Brown, Tyrese Miller, Terrick Johnson
(SF: Wednesday 10:36 PM | F: Friday 9:21 PM)
For the eighth time in nine seasons, Iowa’s men’s 4x400 advanced to the national meet. Fontenot, Brown and Johnson are returners from last year’s quartet that finished fourth with the program’s second-fastest time in school history. Tyrese Miller completes the team after running the fastest split of 44.80 in Fayetteville. The Hawkeyes booked their trip to Hayward Field with a seventh-place finish of 3:03.20 at the prelims. Alternates include David Akhalu, Jackson Johannes, Prior Ochonogor and Ryan Schreiner. Iowa will be the No. 19 seed.

Women’s 4x400 Relay
Princess Uche, Damaris Mutunga, Olicia Lucas, Chioma Nwachukwu
(SF: Thursday 10:36 PM | F: Saturday 9:21 PM)
The women’s 4x400 relay team of Princess Uche, Damaris Mutunga, Olicia Lucas, and Nwachukwu qualified for the national meet after posting a 3:28.53 in Fayetteville. The Hawkeyes placed second in heat one, fifth overall and recorded the program’s second-fastest time ever. Mutunga, Lucas and Nwachukwu are returners to the national meet in the 4x400, ultimately finishing sixth last season. Iowa’s 4x400 earned first-team All-America honors for the first time in program history a season ago. This year, Iowa is the No. 13 seed. Alternates include Ali Frandsen, Alivia Williams, Arianna Williams and Izzy Zahn.

Men’s Discus
Bryce Ruland
(Final: Friday 4:15 PM)
Ruland qualified for his first-ever NCAA Championships appearance with a 57.66-meter throw in Fayetteville. The sophomore finished seventh overall and placed second in flight three. Ruland will represent the Hawkeyes in this event for the first time since 2024, when Jordan Johnson earned second-team All-America honors. Ruland’s season best was thrown at the Musco Twilight, where he sailed the discus 58.02 meters. He will enter as the No. 19 seed.

Men’s Hammer
Ryan Johnson
(Final: Friday 4:30 PM)
Johnson heads back to Hayward Field after a 74.15-meter toss at the regional meet. After placing sixth a season ago, Johnson will enter this year’s final ranked third. The junior from Springboro, Ohio, is one of three participants that has broken 74 meters this season. He is Iowa’s school record holder at 77.64 meters and was the Big Ten’s runner up at the conference meet.