AUBURN, Alabama—Auburn track and field will send eight athletes to the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Randal Tyson Center on the University of Arkansas campus. The two-day meet in Fayetteville starts on Friday, March 14.
“I’m excited about the group we’ve got,” Auburn head coach Leroy Burrell said. “Everyone traveling has the potential to score, so we’ve got to put our best efforts on the track this weekend.”
The Tigers will send six sprinters and two throwers to the championships, including defending 60m hurdles national champion, Ja’Kobe Tharp. A 2025 Bowerman Award finalist, Tharp was the NCAA champion indoors and outdoors in 2025 and will begin his quest for a third national title in the semifinal round on Friday at 6:55 p.m. CT.
“Ja’Kobe probably has one of the deepest hurdle fields to content with. The good thing is, he’s at the top of that field and is the defending champion,” Burrell said. “When you put a title on the line for Ja’Kobe, he’s difficult to beat.”
Also competing on the women’s side in the 60m hurdles are senior Danae Nembhard and junior Ana-Liese Torian, both who set the Auburn school record at SEC Indoor. Nembhard will be making her NCAA indoor debut, while Torian is making her second showing after a 13th place finish last year.
“We have two really competitive hurdlers with Danae and Ala-Liese,” Burrell said. “Both have the potential to score and score big for us. They were second and sixth at SECs and it’s going to be a heck of a competition.”
Auburn is the only team featuring three athletes in the men’s 60m dash, including junior Kayinsola Ajayi, sophomore Israel Okon and senior Omari Lewis. The NCAA runner up two years ago, Ajayi won the SEC Indoor title while equaling a collegiate record of 6.45.
“The men’s 60 is where we are going to really make things happen in terms of scoring points. Between Ajayi, Israel and Omari, we think we have a chance of sending two or three to the finals,” Burrell said. “The have been coming on week in, and week out. Ajayi equaled the collegiate record and his national record at SECs; we are healthy and hopefully peaking at the right time at NCAAs.”
For the first time in program history, Auburn will have two women competing in the women’s shot put in the same year at indoor nationals. Senior Megan Hague won the SEC title last month, breaking her own school record while posting the nation’s No. 2 mark. She will be joined by sophomore Camryn Massey who will be making her first national’s appearance.
“We have Megan and Camryn in the shot put, which gives us a good 1-2 punch there. Megan has had an outstanding season and has a chance to compete for the podium.
Both Auburn programs enter the championships ranked No. 18 in the USTFCCCA rankings and hope to finish in the top 20 in the team standings.
“If we do everything we’re capable of, we have a chance to finish in the top 20 on the women’s team scoring, Burrell said. “It’s a similar situation on the men’s side as the women’s in the team standings. We have to dominate the 60 and if Ja’Kobe does his part, we have a chance to score 20 points and finish in the top 20.”
ESPN+ will televise the meet while live stats will be available at flashresults.com.
AUBURN SCHEDULE AT NCAA INDOORS (CT)
FRIDAY, MARCH 13
5:45 p.m. Men’s 60m (Semifinal) -- Kayinsola Ajayi, Omari Lewis, Israel Okon
6:45 p.m. Women’s 60m Hurdles (Semifinal) -- Danae Nembhard, Ana-liese Torian
6:55 p.m. Men’s 60m Hurdles (Semifinal) -- Ja’Kobe Tharp
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
2:45 p.m. Women’s Shot Put (Prelims/Final) -- Megan Hague, Camryn Massey
4:40 p.m. Men’s 60m (Final) -- TBA
5:50 p.m. Women’s 60m Hurdles (Final) -- TBA
6 p.m. Men’s 60m Hurdles (Final) -- TBA
** Saturday finalists must qualify during Friday semifinal rounds