Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Triumphs on National Stage

With standout individual victories and personal bests across the board, the 2026 NCAA Track and Field Championships highlighted the depth of talent in the Big Ten Conference. Take a look at this year's top team finishes and individual national champions.

A Trio of Top-Three Team Finishes

At the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, defending champion Oregon finished as the runner-up in both the men’s and women’s team competitions won by Arkansas and Georgia, respectively. The women’s team from Illinois also claimed third place overall, which marks the highest team finish in school history.

Check out the full team recaps from Oregon and Illinois .

Repeats, Records, and PBs, Oh My!

There were plenty of individual victories to celebrate around the conference.

Women's winners:

• Nebraska’s Axelina Johansson won her second straight gold in the shot put with 64’ 1 ¾”. Teammate Mine De Klerk placed fifth.
• Aaliyah McCormick (Oregon) topped her 2025 silver medal in the 60m hurdles with gold in 2026
• Hana Moll ( Washington ) reached 15’ 9 ¾” to reclaim the pole vaulting crown after her sister Amanda took it from her last year.
• Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen ran the fastest mile (4:40.06) to defend her 2025 gold medal.
• Sophia Beckmon (Illinois) added just under seven inches to her long jump distance from 2025, moving from fifth to first place.
• In the weight throw, Anthonett Nabwe ( Minnesota ) won gold as the only woman to top 81 feet, reaching even further for a personal best of 82’ 5½”.  Phethisang Makhethe (Illinois) took the silver with a PB of her own (80’ ¾”).
• Freshman Llisa-Maria Lusti (Oregon) won the pentathlon over second-place finisher JaiCieonna Gero-Holt (Illinois).
• The Ducks' dominance in the DMR continued courtesy of Juliet Cherubet, Lakely Doht-Barron, Silan Ayyildiz, and Wilma Nielsen's gold.

Men's champions:

• Establishing a new personal best (6503 points), Oregon’s Peyton Bair won the heptathlon for a second straight year. Illinois teammates Jip Degreef and Luuk Pelkmans finished in third and fourth.
• Ryan Johnson ( Iowa ) added an NCAA championship to his back-to-back Big Ten titles with a meet-record 84’ 1½” weight throw.
• Sprinter Garrett Kaalund ( USC ) set a new college record and came within 0.03 of a world record in winning the 200 meters.

Now, Outdoor Season

There's no rest for the wicked – in just a couple weeks, we'll open the doors and head outside for the 2026 outdoor track and field season. Check out the full list of indoor championships results .