Jamie Dailey

2026 NCAA Championship Preview: Blue Streaks Set To Compete On National Stage In Birmingham For The First Time Since 2023

3/13/2026 10:55:00 AM | By: Jamie Dailey '22, SID Assistant

The Men's & Women's Track & Field Programs Set To Compete At The 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships This Weekend

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Seven athletes from the JCU Men's & Women's Track & Field programs will look to capitalize on their next championship opportunity.

The 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place this Friday-Saturday, March 13th-14th in Birmingham, Alabama at the Birmingham Crossplex.

These individuals who will represent JCU on the biggest stage in Division III this weekend include Tyler Gast, Basheer Alramahi, Tony Tirado, Dustin Horner, Sam Su, Dakota Houston, and Alyssa Vis.

A few athletes from this group will be making track and field event debuts, but for most, they are no strangers to competing at the national championships.

The first day of competition will consist of mostly preliminary rounds, except for the women's long jump.

Day 1: Friday, March 13, 2026

At 2:00 PM (CDT), Dakota Houston will kick off the weekend for the Blue Streaks in the women's 60 meter dash preliminary round. Houston will go into her second consecutive appearance in the event as the fourth-ranked competitor and will look to earn her second All-American accolade of her career in the 60 meter. She will race in the second heat in lane six.

Next up will be the women's mile at 2:35 PM (CDT) as Alyssa Vis enters her first ever NCAA Indoor Championship meet. She heads into the meet ranked 20th overall with a time of 4:53.19. Vis will race in the first heat of the preliminary round.

Right after will be the men's mile at 2:50 PM (CDT), where Sam Su will also compete in his first ever NCAA Indoor Championship appearance. Su is the 11th ranked runner in the race with a time of 4:07.05 and will look to be in contention to advance to the final and add on to his impressive second-year campaign for the Blue Streaks.

The men's 400 meter dash will be the next race for JCU as senior Tyler Gast enters this year's championships in his first individual event of his career. The prelim will take place at 3:25 PM (CDT) with Tyler competing in lane three of heat three. Gast has gained a ton of experience of competing at the national championships, which will be a huge benefit throughout the weekend.

Dakota will return for her second event of the day at 3:30 PM (CDT) in the women's long jump, where she is currently ranked 8th with a mark of 5.86 meters. This is also the first time in Houston's career competing in a field event at the national championships.

To follow at 4:00 PM (CDT) will be the men's 800 meter run. Senior Basheer Alramahi makes his first appearance ever in the 800 with his time of 1:50.72, where he is ranked seventh overall. He will compete in heat three of the preliminary round.

Just 15 minutes after will be the women's 200 meter dash at 4:15 PM (CDT) as Dakota Houston will make her third appearance of the day for the Blue Streaks. She has the fourth-best time in Division III at 24.21 seconds and is placed in heat four lane six.

Last, but not least, the men's 4x400 meter relay of Tyler Gast, Tony Tirado, Dustin Horner, and Basheer Alramahi will compete at 5:50 PM (CDT) in heat three. This quartet has the seventh-fastest time in the country at 3:12.91 with the relay returning to the track for the first time since 2024.

Day 2: Saturday, March 14, 2026

Finals will take place on the second day of the NCAA Indoor Championships.

If Dakota advances in both the 60 and 200 meter dash races, she will compete at 10:55 AM (CDT) and 5:15 PM (CDT).

Alyssa will be next for the Blue Streaks if she advances to the women's mile final, which will take place at 4:00 PM (CDT).

The men's mile final will follow at 4:15 PM (CDT), where Sam Su will hopefully lock his spot.

At 4:35 PM (CDT), Tyler Gast will be the next athlete for the Blue Streaks in the men's 400 meter dash final, following an acceptable performance in the prelim.

The men's 800 meter run final is set for 5:00 PM (CDT). Basheer will look to be one of those competitors to be in contention for a spot, taking care of business in the prelim.

To conclude the weekend, the men's 4x400 meter relay final will go off at 6:30 PM (CDT).

It will be an exciting couple of days ahead for the men's and women's track & field programs as they hope to come out of the weekend with some hardware and historical performances.

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