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2026 OTF Championships Preview

PREVIEW | Mountain Lions Travel to Emporia for 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships

5/19/2026 3:00:00 PM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S ACTION
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams will finish off their outdoor campaign this weekend with a group of 14 student-athletes set to compete at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Emporia, Kan.
  • Taking place inside Francis G. Welch Stadium on the campus of Emporia State University, the three-day national championship meet will begin on Thursday, May 21 and conclude on Saturday, May 21.
MEET INFORMATION TICKETS
  • Tickets for the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships can be purchased online through Emporia State University's ticketing link.
  • Admission Prices:
    • Adult (Single Day): $21.95
    • Youth/Senior (Single Day): $16.70
    • Adult (All-Session Pass): $40.75
    • Youth/Senior (All-Session Pass): $30.25
2026 NCAA DIVISION II OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD NATIONAL QUALIFIERS
  • The Mountain Lions have 14 student-athletes set to compete at this season's indoor national championship meet across 11 individual entries and one relay entry. A full schedule of the competition times for all UCCS qualifiers can be found HERE. 
Men's Qualifiers: Women's Qualifiers: 2026 OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD SEASON IN-REVIEW
  • The UCCS men's and women's teams finished the outdoor qualifying season with a combined total of 38 NCAA provisional qualifying marks for the 2026 outdoor season. Click HERE to view a breakdown of each provisional mark and where they rank among NCAA Division II competition. 
  • The Mountain Lion men's and women's teams have combined to break five outdoor school records throughout the season:
  • The Mountain Lions secured three RMAC Athlete of the Week awards throughout the 2026 Outdoor Track & Field season.
  • The UCCS men's and women's track & field teams saw 15 student-athletes combine to secure a total of 16 USTFCCCA All-South Central Region awards for the 2026 outdoor season, including Josiah Billington (Long Jump) and Michael Roberts (Hammer Throw) as the top regional performers in their respective events.
  • The 2026 All-RMAC Teams and Major Awards are scheduled to be released by the conference on Thursday, May 28, while the RMAC All-Academic Teams are scheduled to be announced on June 2 (Men) and June 3 (Women).
NATIONAL RANKINGS
  • The UCCS men's track & field team landed at No. 24 in the pre-championship edition of the USTFCCCA NCAA DII Men's Outdoor Track & Field National TFRI that was released on May 19. The Mountain Lions have spent a majority of the season ranked among the top 25 programs in the nation, rising as high as No. 15 in the Week 3 and Week 5 editions of the poll.
2026 USTFCCCA Men's OT&F National TFRI
Week 1 (3/31): NR
Week 2 (4/7): #22
Week 3 (4/14): #15
Week 4 (4/21): NR
Week 5 (4/28): #15
Week 6 (5/5): #24
Week 7 (5/12): #23
Week 8 (5/19: #24
 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH ROSS FELLOWS
  • The 2025-26 season marks Ross Fellows' 10th season as the head coach of the UCCS men's and women's track & field programs. Under his leadership, the Mountain Lions have won a total of 22 RMAC Championship trophies (11 Indoor, 11 Outdoor), including the first indoor and outdoor conference titles in both men's and women's program history.
  • A 17-time RMAC Coach of the Year recipient, Fellows has coached a total of 142 RMAC individual event champions, eight RMAC Track Athletes of the Year, 11 RMAC Field Athletes of the Year, and four RMAC Freshman of the Year. The Mountain Lions have become perennial contenders on the national stage under the supervision of Fellows, earning 216 individual entries and 20 relay entries to the indoor and outdoor national championship meets since the start of the 2016-17 season while also recording 15 top 25 team finishes, earning 194 All-America honors, and winning six individual national championships in the same period.
  • In addition, UCCS track & field has performed well in the classroom with Fellows at the head of the program, compiling 78 RMAC All-Academic First Team honorees, six RMAC Academic Athletes of the Year, and 24 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-America accolades.
WEATHER
  • The weather in Emporia, Kan. is expected to be somewhat unsettled throughout the weekend, starting with temperatures in the mid-60s and an 80% chance of rain and thunder to open the meet on Thursday. The temperatures are forecasted to rise into the mid-70s on Friday and Saturday with scattered thunderstorms possible both days.
HOT TAKES
  • The Mountain Lions' 4x100m relay team qualified for the outdoor national championship meet for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in program history with a season-best converted time of 39.98s. UCCS has three 4x100m relay teams that have collected All-America distinction in the event throughout program history, including a pair of first team relays (2018, 2023) and a second team relay (2021).
  • The Mountain Lions are one of six teams to have multiple qualifiers in the women's 3,000m steeplechase this season with UCCS, Wingate University, Lewis University, Adams State University, Colorado School of Mines, and Ouachita Baptist University each holding a pair of qualifiers.
  • Kate Henderson and Molly Breuer will both make their collegiate debuts at the outdoor national championship meet this weekend and will go down as the fifth and sixth national qualifiers in the women's 3,000m steeplechase in program history. The Mountain Lions had a four-year stretch from 2001-06 in which four student-athletes combined to notch five First Team All-America accolades in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, but the program has not seen an All-American in the event since that period.
  • Joseph Impellitteri is set to compete at the outdoor national championship meet for the first time in his collegiate career and becomes just the second student-athlete in men's program history to qualify for outdoor nationals in the men's 3,000m steeplechase, joining 2005 national qualifier Brad Winn.
  • Krissie Sanders is the lone Mountain Lion to qualify for multiple events at this year's outdoor national championship meet as she is set to compete in the 100m hurdles for the first time in her collegiate career and the 400m hurdles for the second time after qualifying in the event as a freshman in 2024. Sanders joins three-time First Team All-American Melissa Moreni as just the second student-athlete in program history to qualify in the women's 100m hurdles. She is also just the second Mountain Lion to qualify in the women's 400m hurdles and will have a chance to be the first All-American in the event in program history.
  • Brett Davis will make his first career appearance at the outdoor national championship meet as the fourth student-athlete in men's program history to qualify for the outdoor 5,000m and the first since the 2023 season. Afewerki Zeru holds the only two First Team All-America awards in the 5,000m in outdoor program history as he was the 2022 individual national champion in the event and finished fifth overall in 2023.
  • Another first-time outdoor qualifier, Josiah Billington becomes the seventh student-athlete in program history to qualify for the outdoor long jump, and the first since Richard Safoh in 2024. The Mountain Lions have notched three outdoor All-America accolades in the long jump in program history, with Peterson Bohannon earning a fifth-place finish to collect first team honors in 2022 and a pair of student-athletes registering second team honors in 2021.
  • Payton Rodgers will make her outdoor national championship debut in the women's triple jump, joining program-legends Hannah Meek (2021-22) and Audrey Bloomquist (2023-24) as just the third student-athlete in women's program history to qualify in the event. The duo of Meek and Bloomquist brought home a pair of All-America awards in the outdoor women's triple jump throughout their storied careers with Meek earning second team honors during the 2021 season and Bloomquist claiming first team honors during the 2024 campaign.
  • A first-time outdoor national qualifier, KJ McInnis joins three-time First Team All-American Dakota Abbott (2021-23) and 2021 Second Team All-American William Ross as just the third student-athlete in program history to be selected for the outdoor national championship meet in the men's triple jump.
  • Michael Roberts will make his outdoor national championship debut in the men's hammer throw, joining 2025 national qualifier Luke Hard as just the second student-athlete in program history to compete in the event on the national stage.
  • Evan Atkin will become the second student-athlete in program history to compete in the decathlon at the outdoor national championship meet, joining two-time national qualifier Thorben Hast, who finished his career with a pair of Second Team All-America nods in the event (2023-24).
USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
  • The United States Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has unveiled an updated All-America award structure for the 2026 outdoor season, with First Team All-America being awarded to the top eight finishers in each men's and women's event, Second Team All-America being awarded to finishers 9-16 in each individual men's and women's event and finishers 9-12 in each men's and women's relay event, and Honorable Mention being awarded to finishers 17-22 in each individual men's and women's event.
SOCIAL
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
 
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