The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Indoor Championship
No. 24/16 Track & Field preview: 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships
03.12.2026 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns send 10 student-athletes to NCAA Indoor Championships.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas, this weekend as the No. 16 men and No. 24 women compete in the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
Texas will send seven women and three men to compete in four field events, three track events and the pentathlon. The top 16 athletes in each individual event qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, while the top 12 relay teams advance.
No. 24/16 Texas at 2026 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
When: Friday, March 13 – Saturday, March 14
Where: Fayetteville, Ark.
Facility: Randal Tyson Center
Watch: ESPN+
HOW TO FOLLOW:
- Live stats will be available on Flashresults.com.
- Fans can also follow @TexasTFXC for live updates of the meet on Twitter/X.
- The meet will be streamed on ESPN+.
- Meet Schedule
NOTES:
• Kelsey Daniel, the defending NCAA indoor champion and current SEC champion in the long jump, ranks No. 4 nationally in the event with a leap of 8.21m (26-11.25), which ranks No. 2 in the SEC this season. He sits fifth on Texas' all-time performers list in the event. Daniel also captured the SEC bronze medal in the triple jump with a Texas program record of 16.51m (54-2), ranking No. 5 nationally and No. 3 in the SEC. He owns the top three marks in program history and will compete in both the long jump and triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time.
• Kendrick Smallwood holds the program record in the 60-meter hurdles and ranks No. 3 nationally and tied for first in the SEC this season with a time of 7.46. He owns eight of the nine fastest times in school history, including the top six, all recorded during the last three meets. Smallwood has broken the program record in three consecutive meets.
• Michael Piñones ranks No. 15 nationally in the shot put and sixth in the SEC with a throw of 19.57m (64-2.5). The mark, achieved at the Tyson Invitational in February, moved him to eighth on the Texas all-time performers list.
• Giavonna Meeks ranks No. 2 nationally and leads the SEC in the weight throw with a mark of 24.49m (80-4.25). The SEC champion secured the title with a mark of 24.44m (80-2.25). Her opening throw of 23.60m (77-5.25) set a facility record and would have been enough to win the competition. Meeks improved the mark twice more and recorded five throws that surpassed the rest of the field. She now owns the top 20 marks in program history and became the first Texas woman to win the SEC indoor title.
• Elise Cooper ranks No. 8 nationally and fifth in the SEC in the 200 meters with a time of 22.80, set at the SEC Championships. The performance moved her to ninth on the Texas all-time performers list. Cooper is the first Texas freshman since Rhasidat Adeleke in 2022 to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200 meters.
• The women's 4x400-meter relay of Amelliah Birdow, Cooper, Bayleigh Minor and Anouk Krause-Jentsch ranks No. 12 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC with a time of 3:28.97, the 12th-fastest mark in program history.
• Tabea Eitel ranks No. 13 nationally and sixth in the SEC in the pentathlon after recording a career-best 4,261 points at the SEC Championships. The performance solidified her position at No. 3 on the Texas all-time performers list and ranks as the eighth-best performance in program history. During the competition, Eitel recorded the top long jump mark of the day at 6.32m (20-9), a personal best that is tied for the 10th-best performance in program history.
• Carleta Bernard is ranked at No. 16 in the nation in the 200-meter with a time of 22.94, accomplished at the SEC Indoor Championships. The time marked a season best and is tied for 8th-best in the SEC.
COMPETITORS
Women
Carleta Bernard – 200m
Amelliah Birdow – 4x400m
Elise Cooper – 200m, 4x400m
Tabea Eitel – Pentathlon
Anouk Krause-Jentsch – 4x400m
Giavonna Meeks – Weight Throw
Bayleigh Minor – 4x400m
Men
Kelsey Daniel – Long Jump, Triple Jump
Michael Piñones – Shot Put
Kendrick Smallwood – 60mH
STREAMING SCHEDULE
Friday (ESPN+) – 11:00 a.m. CT | LINK
Friday (ESPN+) – 5:00 p.m. CT | LINK
Saturday (ESPN+) – 11:30 a.m. CT | LINK
Saturday (ESPN+) – 4:00 p.m. CT | LINK
Players Mentioned
