Sports

Ten Biggest Track And Field Questions For 2026

Published

1 week ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By David Melly & Paul Snyder

Happy last day of 2025! We hope that, for you, it was a year to remember and not one to forget.

For the track and field community, this year left us with a lot to process. A quick search through the newsletter archives finds four uses of the word “change” in our subject lines this year, with phrases like “forecast,” “wide open,” “worth a try,” and “what?” sprinkled in as well. With one Olympic cycle firmly in the rearview and another just picking up steam, it makes sense: 2025 was, ultimately, a period of mass transition.

As the clock ticks to midnight tonight, we have a lot more questions than answers. Somewhere between “who will I kiss when the ball drops?” and “how hungover will I be tomorrow?”, you may start thinking instead about the bigger, more long-term unknowns looming for track and field in the year to come.

What do pro leagues look like next year?

Every professional sport evolves over time, but few go through as many evolutions and permutations as ours. That’s because we’ve never really had a dominant professional circuit.

Currently, we have the Diamond League, which seems to persist as “best of all the bad options.” One big improvement we got out of the 2025 season was the reclassification of the DL final to one last big event before the World Championships. The positioning, in essence, traded a little bit of star power for real stakes: a lot of the top stars opted to skip out on Zurich, but increased prize money and the promise of a wild-card entry to Worlds kept things interesting. Sure, the meets are still hard to watch (in the U.S.) and can feel repetitive mid-season, but it’s still the closest thing we have to a Premier League for track and field.

There was still enough of a perceived gap in the market, however, that several entities stepped up to try and fill the void. Grand Slam Track took the biggest swing at a legitimate Diamond League alternative, but unfortunately was also the biggest flop. All the public-facing messaging around the League’s bankruptcy filing insists that GST will return for a second season, but there’s a bit of a “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” sentiment at this point in the game. It’s safe to say that, until GST is able to roll out a compelling argument for its own continued relevance, no one is taking for granted that it’ll be a genuine presence on the pro circuit moving forward.

At the other end of the spectrum, ATHLOS NYC’s second one-off exhibition meet was enough of a purported success that the event, organized by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, has announced it’s expanding into a multi-event league for the 2026 season with stars Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall attached as “advisor-owners.” Much like GST, there are more questions than answers at this point in time: How does a women’s-only event map onto a landscape that prizes gender parity? Will keeping its events in the fall ever move ATHLOS out of novelty status to feel like a “real” part of the season? Does the limitation of events to sprints, middle-distance, and long jump continue? Unlike GST, however, they benefit (at least in public perception) from taking an approach that’s generally seen as safer: starting small and expanding, rather than swinging for the fences and coming up short.

And then there’s the 11th-hour announcement that, once again, USATF will by trying to tie its disparate offerings into a branded package. This time, it’s a “USATF Tour”, which unifies 17 meets scheduled from March to July under one calendar. It’s unclear how this will be different from these meets operating entirely independently; the landing page for the site includes the notation “TBD” no less than seven times. You’ll need at least three different streamers to watch all the meets, and there doesn’t seem to be any clearly-stated prize or other incentive for athletes to participate in multiple events. The number of events isn’t even clear: the website says “16 unique events” but lists 17, the LA Distance Classic and LA Grand Prix are listed as separate events despite occurring on back-to-back days in the same city, and there’s an unnamed “Grand Prix” event set to air on NBC that has a date but no location.

It would be great if there was a unified domestic circuit for professional track and field in the U.S. It would be great if there was a premiere showcase for the best of women’s sports with a hefty prize purse. And it would be great if we all agreed to prioritize one A-tier circuit that mattered throughout the regular season. But more than anything else, it would be great if we could build a little year-over-year momentum for any one of these initiatives rather than facing down a whole bunch of unknowns each December.

How does World Ultimate Champs shape the season?

One of the few positive side effects of a life-altering global pandemic was that we haven’t had a track season without a global championship since 2018. In 2026, we’ll see what a season looks like when the entire sport isn’t oriented toward a ten-day conclusion where gold medals drown out any other metric of success.

Or will we? World Athletics is rolling out its new “World Ultimate Championship,” which, despite its name, is a three-day track meet and not a frisbee tournament. On paper, it’s sort of an unholy hybrid of a true global championship and a beefed-up Diamond League final, with most, but not all, events slated for a one-round final with big prize money on the line.

How this slots into the global calendar, and how it is perceived, remain to be seen. For steeplechasers, it might be business as usual, given that the event is omitted entirely (same goes, at least this year, for a number of jumping and throwing events). Small fields of 16 athletes on the track and 8 in the field will mean that simply qualifying for the meet will be prohibitively difficult, if not impossible, for even most pros. Conversely, it relies a lot on the biggest names to lend their star power to the event—only a few passes or withdrawals from reigning World/Olympic champs could make this event feel too small in a hurry.

Adding a new championship-style event to a non-championship year is a great idea in theory, but it has to feel like a championship level of stakes and competition to be taken seriously.

Does 2026 become the year of the comeback?

2025 was a year to forget for more than a few of the sport’s biggest stars. Olympic champs like Grant Holloway and Jakob Ingebrigtsen battled injuries and less-than-perfect returns, whereas domestic stars like Elle St. Pierre and Parker Valby returned late from long breaks. Some of the most dominant athletes of the last decade – like Yulimar Rojas, Shericka Jackson, and Soufiane El Bakkali—were not able to return to the top of podiums they’d once frequented.There’s a silver lining in each of these individual storm clouds, however: everybody loves a comeback story.

A year or two ago, athletes like Holloway and El Bakkali simply couldn’t seem to lose, and it was starting to get boring. Now, they get to head into 2026 with a chip on their shoulders rather than a target on their backs. Ingebrigtsen and Rojas are current world world record holders who remain squarely in their primes, at 25 and 30 years old, respectively. A few years of bad Achilles luck can’t possibly keep two of the sport’s biggest talents down for too much longer, right?

St. Pierre and Valby both returned to racing in November at the Abbott 5k in New York. St. Pierre was coming back from giving birth to her second son in May, and Valby was finally healthy again after an injury-plagued rookie season. Together, they represent two of the country’s biggest distance talents, but right now, we’re not quite sure where they fit into a broader pecking order where Nikki Hiltz and Sinclaire Johnson are dominating the middle distances and Shelby Houlihan has re-entered the chat.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s the crop of 30-something sprint stars who aren’t quite done. Shericka Jackson is just two years removed from her epic 21.41 200m gold in Budapest, and at 31, she’s still got the better part of a decade ahead of her if her countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a model to follow. Trayvon Bromell already had a bit of a comeback season of his own, getting back atop the 100m ranks on the DL circuit but still falling short of the podium at USAs. And let’s not forget that both Tokyo Olympic champions, Elaine Thompson-Herah (33) and Lamont Marcell Jacobs (31) aren’t totally over the hill just yet, even if they’re a little farther removed from their best seasons and haven’t shown signs of life in a while. Ya never know.

Who tries a new event next?

2025 saw Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone forego the hurdles during her typically blistering trips around the oval. That foray into a new-ish-to-her event culminated in another gold medal, a 47.78 world-leading time, and a new American record. We already know that the closest thing to a rival SML has in the 400m hurdles—Femke Bol—will be experimenting with the 800m in 2026, and has already been spotted exploring fascinating training systems in her pursuit of half-mile glory. New events are in!

It’s pretty clear that if McLaughlin-Levrone gives the 400m her undivided attention for another season or two that she would have realistic ambitions to break the world record. She’s demonstrated world-class ability at this “off event” at every level of her competitive life. And what else does she have to prove in her primary event?

Male 400H World champ Rai Benjamin has also talked about wanting to take on the flat 400m or even the 200m in future seasons. Is there something about the hurdles that makes them get really boring over time? Regardless, it’ll be fun to see if Benjamin can improve on his PBs of 44.21 from 2023 or 19.99 from 2018. Heck, he even ran a wind-legal 10.03 in 2020 – is 2026 the year that births the first sub-10/sub-20/sub-44/sub-47 runner in history?

If there was ever a time for stars who’ve solidified their place atop one event to try another, it’s now. What’s to stop Faith Kipyegon from going even longer in distance, when she could always retreat to the safety of the 1500m if it doesn’t work out? Heck, even Jakob Ingebrigtsen has teased a return to the steeplechase. And simply typing out the words “Grant Fisher marathon debut” will trigger some sort of seismic activity as distance bros all over the world start to jump up and down with excitement all at once. And over in the infield, there’s one true wild card who could mix things up: Ryan Crouser.

Crouser is the best male shot putter in history, yes. But he still holds the American high school national record in the discus (72.40m) and secured World Youth Championship silver in that event back in 2009. During Crouser’s last complete outdoor season, 2024, his World ranking score in the shot was 1520. During 2025, the highest ranking attained by a discus thrower was 1476, belonging to Mykolas Alekna. Now those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt—comparing greatness across disciplines is tricky business—but if you’re Crouser, coming off an injury-shortened-ravaged campaign that still saw you win World gold in the shot, don’t you at least think about kicking the tires on a different event that you were historically great at as a teen, and that might tax your shot-put-worn body in different, career-extending ways?

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Several Hornets Make Season Debuts at Burg Open

Published

3 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Lynchburg, Va. – The University of Lynchburg indoor track & field teams hosted the Burg Open to resume competition for the 2025-2026 season at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

Although the Hornets competed in their third indoor meet, several distance athletes made their season debuts following an extended training block. On the field events side, Lynchburg posted 23 top-10 performances, including individual victories in the women’s weight throw and men’s high jump.

For the men’s team, Lamont Victoria and Alex Jordan earned first-place finishes against stellar competition. Victoria bested the field in the men’s high jump by clearing the 6′ 9″ (2.06m) bar, while Aidan Hipp finished second at the 6′ 5¾” (1.98m) height. Elijah Rose and Jaren Lee (6′ 3¾” or 1.93m) earned third and fourth, respectively.

Alex Jordan posted an 8:24.78 performance in the men’s 3,000m to win the race, which featured 11 Hornets. Jack Weddle clinched second with an 8:32.30 result, while Mercer Alden accelerated into third with an 8:45.82 finish.

Delaney Saulsbury led the women’s 3,000m coast-to-coast and registered a personal-best 10:40.53 for first place. Winter Tietjen posted 10:46.70 for second place in her collegiate track debut, while Mya Baker earned 10:48.84 for third.

Rylee Turner also secured a pair of podium finishes, clocking 7.95 for third in the 60-meter dash finals and 26.02 for second in the 200-meter dash. In the 400m, Kaitlyn Ruiz crossed the line in 59.99 for second, while Parker Marshall finished fifth in the men’s race with a 51.33 result.

In jumping events, Kacey Kelly displayed her versatility with three top-10 finishes. The senior placed second in the women’s triple jump with a 36′ 3¼” (11.06m), fourth in the women’s long jump (16′ 8¾” or 5.10m) and sixth in the women’s 60-meter hurdles (10.84).

First-year Audrey Lacombe joined Kelly with a sixth-place mark in the women’s triple jump (30′ 11″ or 9.42m) and an eighth-place finish in the women’s 60-meter hurdle final (11.11).

Kenzie Swicegood earned her third first-place finish of the season with an individual victory in the women’s weight throw, posting a 53′ 4½” (16.27m) throw. The former Old Dominion Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week also claimed a fourth-place finish in the women’s shot put with a 37′ 1″ (11.30m) performance.

The Hornets registered 11 top-ten finishes between the women’s weight throw and shot put, and Kya Rucker joined Swicegood on the podium for the weight throw with a 46′ 3¾” (14.12m) mark.

To round out the day, the women’s 4x400m relay team clocked 4:04.72 for second in the field, while the men’s 4x400m squad clinched 3:20.39 for second.

Lynchburg returns to action on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17 with a split-squad weekend, traveling to the Virginia Tech Invitational and Finn Pincus Invitational, hosted by Roanoke College.

For full results from the Burg Open, click here.

Visit Lynchburg athletics’ home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

Give Lynchburg Sports a like on Facebook, and follow Lynchburg athletics on Instagram, Threads, and X.

–LYN–

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CSUN Improves to 2-0 After Holding Off Harvard in Four Sets

Published

4 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

GOLETA, Calif. — Joao Favarim and Hank Kaufman powered a balanced attack as CSUN defeated Harvard 25-16, 25-19, 26-28, 25-18 to improve to 2-0 at the Asics Invitational Friday afternoon at UCSB’s Rob Gym.

CSUN (2-0) struggled a times offensively, hitting .206 as a team, but controlled the match with steady serving and a strong block. The Matadors finished with a 9.5–7 edge in total team blocks as Favarim had a match-high six block assists. The sophomore middle also led the Matadors offensively with 10 kills on 17 swings to hit .471. Kaufman finished the match with nine kills (.065), two aces, and two blocks, while senior Shane Nhem chipped in six kills (.455) and a pair of blocks.

Setter Owen Douphner helped CSUN to a sizable 10-4 edge in team aces as he served a career-high five in the win. Doughner directed the offense with 30 assists and chipped in five kills, as CSUN placed four players in double figures in points. Shane Nhem added six kills on .455 hitting, and Joao Avila contributed a match-high 10 digs, seven kills (.214), and two aces.

CSUN jumped out early, rolling to a convincing win in the opening set behind efficient sideout play and four aces. The Matadors carried that momentum into the second set, pulling away late to take a two-set lead.

Harvard (0-2) extended the match by outlasting CSUN in a tightly contested third set, but the Matadors responded with their most complete effort in the fourth. CSUN broke open a close set with a decisive run midway through and closed the match on a kill by Grayson Albers.

Sawyer Nichols led Harvard with 15 kills, but the Crimson hit just .037 for the match and struggled to find consistency against the CSUN block and serve pressure.

HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID

“I thought we were inconsistent at times today. We had four guys out there that are starting to really learn how to do this and how to play at a consistent level. There were some great performances; Owen (Doughner) commanded the match for the most part. For me, it’s just about us learning and making progress throughout the season. Part of the struggle for us today was playing back-to-back days. We’re having some conversations about that and how to get the proper rest and get ready for tomorrow.”

UP NEXT

CSUN concludes the 2026 Asics Invitational on Saturday afternoon, meeting Kentucky State (0-1) at 4:30 p.m.

#GoMatadors

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2026 Season Opens in a Five-Set Thriller

Published

4 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

IRVINE, CALIF. – In a thrilling five-set showdown to kick off the 2026 men’s volleyball season, the Golden Eagles showcased heart, hustle, and plenty of promise in front of a spirited home crowd – ultimately falling in a close 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 27-29, 13-15) to Rockhurst. Despite the loss, CUI took numerous positive takeaways from an electric night of volleyball that highlighted depth, leadership, and grit.

Fresh into his Golden Eagle debut, Aidan Case delivered a standout performance, delivering 54 assists, which is currently tied for ninth in the CUI record books for a five-set match. His ability to distribute the ball kept the Green and Gold competitive through every set and provided real momentum swings for the Golden Eagles.

CUI’s offense was firing on all cylinders at times, with several players stepping up to the plate. Christian Galoppo led the Green and Gold with 15 kills and eight digs. Logan Whitaker and Nathan Habermas added 13 and 11, respectively.

Defensively, the Golden Eagles were active at the net, finishing with 10 total blocks. Players like Paul Schulties and Logan Whitaker were particularly disruptive to the Hawks’ offense, recording nine blocks between the two of them. The back row also made key plays that extended rallies and pressured Rockhurst’s offense. The energy never wavered, even as the match went the distance.

While the Green and Gold came up just short in their home opener, the performance laid a strong foundation for the rest of the season. The Golden Eagles will be on the road Sunday, January 11, to take on #1 UCLA at 5:00 PM in their first MPSF match-up.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON

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Men’s Volleyball Sweeps St. Thomas Aquinas to Begin 2026 Campaign

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team (1-0) took three straight sets from the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas (0-1) to open the 2026 season in Firestone Fieldhouse Friday night.

“It was great to start off our season with a win,” head coach Jonathan Winder said. “Our serving was really strong for a few stretches with Aidan Tune and Grant Lamoureux in different sets that opened up the games. All in all, pleased with the effort and focus of the group and ready to get prepared for Sunday’s game.”

In the closest of the three sets, the Waves went back and forth with the Spartans in the first, withstanding opposing runs while maintaining the lead. Hitting a monster .700, Cole Hartke led the squad with seven kills to give Pepperdine a 25-18 win in the opening set of the 2026 season.

Forcing a negative hitting percentage for STAC in the second set, the Waves kept the foot on the gas. Ryan Barnett and Lamoureux split the heavy lifting for Pepperdine with three kills on five attempts a piece. After a close set through the opening 14 points, Tune took his turn at the service line to compose the Waves, aiding in a 6-0 run on seven-straight serves to give Pepperdine a 20-11 lead. From there, it was smooth sailing as Pepperdine took the second set 25-17.

Five aces by Lamoureux highlighted the third and final set of the night as Pepperdine shut down the Spartans completely to close the night out. Six errors by the opposing side helped the Waves hold STAC to 12 points, finishing the sweep with a 25-12 set win.

WAVES VS. SPARTANS

PEPPERDINE ATTACK BY SET
Set     K         E        TA       Pct
1         13      2         19       .579
2         12       2         22       .455
3         7         1         13       .462

STAC ATTACK BY SET
Set     K         E        TA       Pct
1         10       3         25       .280
2         7         9         24       -.083
3         7         6         19       .053

The Waves have the second home match of the weekend Sunday against Daemen. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. with streaming available on B1G+ (subscription required) and live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com

GAME NOTES
• Cole Hartke led the Waves offensively, hitting .381 on 21 attempts.
• Grant Lamoureux shined from the service line, leading the Waves with five aces.
• The Waves only recorded five errors on the night, compared to the Spartans 18.
• Noé Matthey had a hand in the most blocks tonight, with three assists and one solo block.
• Andrej Polomac recorded over 85 percent of Pepperdine’s assists with 26.
• Polomac also led the team in digs with five.
• Zach Chapin, Matthey, Polomac, Lamoureux, and Ford Harman made their Wave debuts tonight.
• Chapin recorded an ace in his third collegiate set.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Pepperdine men’s volleyball boasts one of the richest histories in collegiate volleyball, with five NCAA National Championships. Four of those championships came under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy who totaled 612 victories in 34 seasons at the helm. With 19 NCAA Appearances and 63 All-Americans, the program has consistently been a destination for top talent across the country. Under current head coach Jonathan Winder, the Waves reached the NCAA Final Four in his third season at the helm in 2025.

TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.

FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women’s soccer news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMVB_ .

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Men’s Volleyball Falls In Season Opener At #3 Long Beach State

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

LONG BEACH, CA. – The Lindenwood Men’s Volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 MIVA) fell in their season opener on the road at #3 Long Beach State in three sets by scores of 21-25, 16-25, 20-25. Luke Kraft led the Lions in kills with seven in his first game in a Black and Gold uniform while Zach Solomon led the team in assists with 22.

In the first set, both teams went back and forth early. Trailing 6-4, the Lions went on a 4-0 run as Caden Whiteside had a kill during the run to put LU in front 8-6. The Beach responded with an 8-2 run of their own to take control of the first set by a score of 14-10. Amir Grant and Brendan Louthain each had a kill following the LBSU run to cut the deficit to three at 17-14, but the Beach were able to use their run in the middle of the opening set and protect their lead to take the first set by a score of 25-21. In set two, Long Beach State was able to limit the Lions to a hitting percentage of 0.033% and recorded five blocks in the middle set. LBSU won the set by a score of 25-16 and Luke Kraft led the Lions with three kills in the middle frame.

The third set saw the Lions take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout thanks to two kills each from Grant and Kraft. Kraft also had a block assist and solo block in the third set which helped give the Lions the lead in the middle of the set. However, out of the media timeout Long Beach State went on a 7-1 run and took a 20-16 lead. The Beach never gave the lead up after that and went on to complete the sweep over the Lions, winning the final set by a score of 25-20.

Lindenwood will now head to Costa Mesa, CA tomorrow where they will wrap up their first road trip of the season at Vanguard University. First serve is set for 4 p.m. CT.

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Men’s Volleyball Drops Rematch With Loyola Chicago In Four Sets

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Your Sports Nation

HONOLULU – The second-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team valiantly battled back from an 2-0 deficit before falling in four sets to No. 7 Loyola Chicago Friday to close out a two-match series at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 29-27.

The teams split the season series for the second time in three years after UH took the opener in straight sets on Thursday.

The Rainbow Warriors (3-1) would not fold easily, rallying from a seven-point deficit in Set 3 and fending off five match points in Set 4. Ultimately, the Ramblers pulled off the upset with a block on their seventh match point.

Hawai’i committed 25 attack errors and allowed eight service aces and 15.5 blocks in virtually a repeat of the teams’ 2024 series in which the Warriors won the opener in straight sets and dropped the rematch in five.

Louis Sakanoko recorded his first career double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs along with two service aces and two blocks. Kristian Titriyski added 16 kills before giving way to Kainoa Wade in the third set. Wade finished the match with four kills, one ace, and three digs.

Adrien Roure added nine kills in 26 errorless attempts, nine digs and five blocks while Ofeck Hazan, who started in place of Trevell Jordan, posted five kills and five blocks. Tread Rosenthal dished out 50 assists along with seven digs and four blocks and Quintin Greenidge tallied 13 digs.

The Ramblers (1-1) were led by Aleksandar Sosa’s match-high 19 kills. Setter Ryan McElligott had five of the team’s eight aces along with 11 digs and four blocks.

Loyola led big early in Set 1 after McElligott fueled an 8-0 run with three aces. UH chipped away and tied it at 22 after an ace by Wade but McElligott’s fourth ace closed out the set. In Set 2, the Ramblers rallied from a 21-19 deficit and out-scored Hawai’i 6-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

UH trailed by as much as seven in Set 3 including 20-13. But again, the Warriors would not go away, scoring four straight, including two kills by Wade and an ace by Sakanoko to tie it at 23. After a Rambler point, UH’s block came alive during a 3-0 run to steal the set.

Hawai’i reeled off five straight points for a 13-11 lead in Set 4. The Ramblers tied it and surged ahead 20-18 after a three-point run before the Warriors tied it at 20. Loyola jumped back ahead but Hawai’i rallied to tie it at 23. From there, the teams traded side-outs until the Ramblers blocked Hazan to end it.

The Warriors will next host a pair of doubleheaders next week against Roberts Wesleyan and Rockhurst, Wednesday, Jan. 14 and Friday, Jan. 16 at Bankoh Arena. Match times are 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day.