The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
SEC Indoor Championship
Texas Track & Fields Daniel’s wins long jump title on first day of SEC Indoor Championships
02.26.2026 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns post school records and personal bests on Day 1 in College Station.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kelsey Daniel won the men's long jump in record-breaking fashion Thursday to highlight Day 1 for Texas Track and Field at the SEC Indoor Championships inside Fasken Indoor Track and Field Facility.
Daniel broke his own Texas long jump record with a leap of 8.21m (26-11.25) to win the SEC title. The mark also set a facility record and ranks No. 2 nationally this season. Mathis Vaitulukina added a personal-best jump of 7.76m (25-5.50) to place seventh.
In the pentathlon, sophomore Tabea Eitel finished fifth with a personal-best 4,261 points, moving to No. 3 on the Texas all-time performers list and registering the eighth-best score in program history. She opened with an 8.58 in the 60m hurdles, cleared 1.68m (5-6.00) in the high jump and threw 12.36m (40-6.75) in the shot put. Eitel then posted the top long jump mark of the day at 6.32m (20-9.00), a personal best that ties for 10th all-time at Texas, before closing with a 2:22.00 in the 800m to secure four team points.
Sophie Atkinson broke her second school record in as many meets, clocking a personal-best 15:37.26 in the women's 5,000m to lower the previous Texas record by more than three seconds. Elizabeth Pickett placed ninth in 15:39.71, shaving more than nine seconds off her previous best to record the third-fastest time in program history.
In the women's 200m prelims, Elise Cooper ran a personal-best 22.83 to move to No. 10 on the Texas all-time list and placed second to advance to Saturday's final. Carleta Bernard also set a personal best at 22.94 to finish sixth and qualify for the final, while freshman Abigail Wolfe added a personal-best 23.51. On the men's side, Jayden Jones (21.04) and John Rutledge (21.08) each posted season-best times in the 200m.
Brock Lewis sits eighth after the first day of the heptathlon with 2,727 points. He matched his personal best in the 60m with a 7.24, jumped 6.36m (20-10.50) in the long jump and threw 12.04m (39-6.00) in the shot put for 609 points. Lewis cleared 1.83m (6-0.00) in the high jump to add 653 points to his total.
In the women's distance medley relay, Mia Perez, Mackenzie Collins, Grace Kowalski and Aishling Callanan posted a time of 11:20.91 for a new season best.
The men's distance medley relay team of Hudson Bennett, Kody Blackwood, Zain Hamdani and Lucas Bons combined for a season-best 9:38.99 to finish eighth. Sophia Kowalski placed 11th in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 4.00m (13-1.50).
The SEC Indoor Championships resume Friday at 11 a.m., beginning with Giavonna Meeks in the women's weight throw.
Women's Point Scorers
Tabea Eitel – Pentathlon – 4
Sophie Atkinson – 5,000-meter - 2
Men's Point Scorers
Kelsey Daniel – Long Jump - 10
Mathis Vaitulukina – Long Jump – 2
Hudson Bennett, Kody Blackwood, Zain Hamdani, Lucas Bons – Distance Medley Relay – 1
Texas Program Records set at the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships
Men's Long Jump: Kelsey Daniel – 8.21m (26-11.25)
Women's 5,000m: Sophie Atkinson – 15:37.26
Players Mentioned
