2026 NCAA Championship Preview: Men’s & Women’s Track & Field Set To Compete In La Crosse, Wisconsin

5/20/2026 6:35:00 PM | By: Jamie Dailey '22, SID Assistant

Blue Streaks ready To Compete At The 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships Hosted At The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse This Weekend

LA CROSSE, WI. – The Blue Streaks have returned to Wisconsin to compete on the national stage for the first time since 2018.

Ten athletes from both the men's and women's teams will look to put an emphasis on their historical 2026 seasons competing for the Blue & Gold starting tomorrow.

The 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships will take place at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this Thursday-Saturday, May 21st-23rd.

This group has collected a ton of championship experience over the last few years, which will be a huge benefit going into the weekend.

Qualifiers for this year's outdoor championships on the men's side include Sam Su, Tyler Gast, Basheer Alramahi, Jack Arnold, and Tony Tirado.

The women's qualifiers for this year are Dakota Houston, Sandra King, Paige Munchick, Rosie Murray, and Leah Fritsch.

For the first two days, the day will mostly include preliminary rounds with finals being on Saturday.

Day 1: Thursday, May 21st

The first day of competition will begin at 4:50pm (CDT) as Sam Su will compete in the men's 1500 meter preliminary round. Sam's time of 3:46.83 ranks him ninth coming into the meet and will be one of the top returners from the indoor season to be in the mix.

Following the 1500 meter races will be the women's 200 meter dash preliminary round at 5:40pm (CDT) with Dakota Houston competing in her first event of the weekend. She is the 11th ranked competitor in this year's event.

To end the day, the women's and men's 4x400 meter prelims will take place at both 7:00pm (CDT) and 7:15pm (CDT).

Sandra King, Paige Munchick, Rosie Murray, & Dakota Houston will line up for the Blue Streaks with a time of 3:46.67 as the 14th best relay heading into the national championships. This will be the first time since 2017 a women's 4x400 meter relay from JCU will compete on the national stage outdoors.

The men's 4x400 meter relay will consist of Basheer Alramahi, Tyler Gast, Jack Arnold, and Tony Tirado. They will make their fourth-straight NCAA appearance outdoors for JCU.

Day 2: Friday, May 22nd

The same relay from the women's 4x400 meter relay with King, Munchick, Murray, and Houston will compete in the women's 4x100 preliminary round at 3:00pm (CDT) to kick off the second day.

At 4:50pm (CDT), sophomore Sandra King will make her first appearance in the 400 meter dash preliminary round with a time of 56.01 seconds. She ranks at 22nd in Division III.

Following right after will be seniors Tyler Gast and Basheer Alramahi running in the 400 meter dash preliminaries at 5:05pm (CDT).

To conclude the day, sophomore Dakota Houston will make her return in the 100 meter dash prelim at 5:20pm (CDT). Houston ranks in the top 10 with a time of 11.67 seconds.

Day 3: Saturday, May 23rd

Finals for all events will take place on the last day of the meet with athletes advancing on from the preliminary rounds from days one and two.

At 1:05pm (CDT), the women's 4x100 meter final will kick off, followed by the men's 1500 meter run final starting at 1:35pm (CDT).

Leah Fritsch will be competing in the women's javelin throw at 2:00pm (CDT). This will be Fritsch's first appearance at the outdoor championships and her mark of 42.78 ranks her as the 15th-best in Division III.

Finals for the men's and women's 400 meter dash will go off at 2:10pm (CDT) and 2:20pm (CDT), followed by the women's 100 meter dash final at 2:30pm (CDT).

The women's 200 meter dash final will then be the next event for the Blue Streaks at 3:40pm (CDT).

To conclude the weekend, the finals of the men's and women's 4x400 meter relays will go off at 4:50pm (CDT) and 5:00pm (CDT).

The athletes must meet criteria based on the qualification standards to reach the finals after the first two days.

There is lots to look forward to going into the weekend as the Blue Streaks will look to make more history on the track and the field to conclude the 2026 season.

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