Missouri
NCAA West First Round
Track and Field Preps for NCAA West Regional First Round
5/26/2026 11:02:00 AM | Track & Field
A group of 16 travels to Fayetteville for the third time this year.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou track and field opens NCAA competition with the NCAA Championships West First Round meet May 27-30 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.
TIGERS ON THE TRACK
A group of 16 Tigers will compete across 12 events, with the top 12 in each event advancing to the final round June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. This marks the third time Missouri has competed in Fayetteville in 2026 after the Valentine Invitational and NCAA Indoor Championships.
Headlining the men is senior Sam Innes, claiming the West's No. 7 result for hammer throw with a 71.65m (235-1), a personal best and No. 2 mark in Missouri history. Garik Pozecki joins him in the men's hammer throw competition scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Senior Lasse Funck enters the regional competition at the No. 46 mark in the 1500m after winning the Rock Chalk Classic with a 3:41.25, the No. 2 result for Missouri, racing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Houston transfer Dillon Leacock makes his first NCAA appearance as a Tiger in the 400m hurdles for his No. 27 result of 50.68, which earned him the title of Drake Relays Champion. He is slated to run at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.
Closing out Wednesday's events is Drew Rogers, returning to the 10,000m after clinching a 28:47.49 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, good for the 43rd spot in the West.
Two Tigers represent the Black and Gold in the 3000m steeplechase, with Elijah Limo racing with the No. 13 spot after achieving a personal best of 8:36.22 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, ranking second in program history. Joshua Allison follows in the 18th qualifying mark after establishing a 8:40.21 in the same race, standing third on the Missouri charts. The pair races at 5:40 p.m. Friday.
On the women's side, Petra Gombas returns to the national stage for hammer throw at 9:30 a.m. Friday after establishing a qualifying mark of 61.43m (201-6) at the SEC Outdoor Championships, ranking No. 26 in the West and seventh in program history.
At 2 p.m. Thursday, reigning javelin national champion Valentina Barrios goes for another gold, standing No. 2 on the West leaderboard after claiming the title at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a mark of 58.31m (191-4). Skylar Ciccolini follows with the No. 3 qualifying mark after throwing 57.45m (188-6) at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, a personal best and the No. 3 result for Missouri history.
Two other Tigers represent the javelin group, ranked No. 1 in the national event squad rankings for the entirety of the outdoor campaign. Morgan Cannon qualifies with a 48.18m (158-0), the No. 44 mark in the West. Val Galligan's throw of 47.64m (156-3) earns her the No. 48 spot.
At 6:30 p.m. Friday, Suzy Lecoutre takes on the 1500m after qualifying for her mark of 4:20.56 at Battle on the Bayou, ranked seventh in school history.
Sophomore Monica Wanjiku clinches spots in two distance events after standing No. 15 in the 10,000m from her result of 32:28.20 achieved at the Bryan Clay Invitational, set for 9:10 p.m. Thursday. She punched her ticket in the 5000m after clocking a 15:55.18 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, standing 48th in the region. She readies for the event on Saturday at 8:10 p.m.
Senior Ames Burton begins Saturday's events with discus throw after securing a No. 22 throw of 54.79m (179-9) at the SEC Outdoor Championships, ranking sixth on the Missouri charts.
Marlena Tresnjo makes her NCAA Championship debut for her No. 18 high jump mark of 1.83m (6-0) at the Drake Relays, a personal best and No. 5 result in program history. The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.
LAST TIME AT THE NCAA OUTDOOR WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Six Tigers earned a berth to the final championship at last year's first round competition. Two javelin athletes shined for the Black and Gold, with Callan Saldutto placing ninth in the men's contest with a throw of 69.17m (226-11). Barrios punched her ticket after tossing 56.71m (186-0) to claim fifth.
Skylar Coffey earned his spot in the men's discus with a personal-best throw of 58.93m (193-4) to finish ninth overall.
In the women's high jump, Diaz and Perez-Snyman both cleared 1.84m (6-0.5) to place fifth and seventh, respectively, and secure their place in the final meet.
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