MOBILE, Ala. – For the second consecutive year, the Bobcats from Texas State claimed both the men’s and women’s Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship crowns. This marked just the second time an institution accomplished the feat with the first championship taking place in 1992.
The Texas State men won the program’s third Sun Belt title with nearly 100 points on the final day of competition to lead the field with 157. App State finished second with 128 as the Mountaineers were the only team throughout both championships to sweep two podiums. Arkansas State finished third with 112.5 points. The Texas State women earned the program’s fifth outdoor title with 128.33 points. Louisiana finished second with 96 points as App State finished third with 80.5.
Georgia Southern’s Shatalya Dorsett was named the women’s top meet scorer with 23 points from her performance across the sprints and relays. Texas State’s Ja’Shaun Lloyd was the men’s top meet scorer with 25.5 points with a pair of gold medals.
Four additional Sun Belt Conference Championship Meet records fell on the final day of competition. Louisiana’s Kimola Hines recorded her mark of 54.77m/179-8 on her second attempt to claim the record in the women’s discus throw. On the track, App State’s Derek Waite finished the men’s 1500m in 3:45.82 as the Mountaineers recorded their second sweep of the podium in the event. Lloyd etched himself further into the record books in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.41 for his first gold medal of the day. Emme Bates recorded the final record performance in the women’s 800m with a personal best time of 2:06.88.
The 2026 NCAA outdoor track and field preliminaries will run from May 27-30. The East First Round will be hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., while the West First Round will be hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. The selection will be announced the week prior to First Round competition on Thursday, May 21.
For each individual event contested at each of the First Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon) are not contested at the First Round sites. For combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), the top 24 declared student-athletes in each event based on their position on the national descending-order list will be accepted directly into the Championships.
The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into First Round competition will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to First Round competition.
Qualifying to the Championships site is accomplished through performance in the First Rounds. Twelve competitors from each individual event and twelve teams from each relay event advance from each First Round site. The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into Championships competition based on their performance at the First Rounds will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to Championships competition.
The NCAA outdoor track and field championships run from June 10-13. Both the men's and women's championships will be run simultaneously at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.
2026 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 16, 2026)
Men’s Team Scores (Final):
1. Texas State (157)
2. App State (128)
3. Arkansas State (112.5)
4. South Alabama (92.5)
5. Louisiana (76)
6. Southern Miss (75)
7. ULM (74)
8. Marshall (46)
9. Troy (45)
10. Coastal Carolina (12)
Women’s Team Scores (Final):
1. Texas State (128.33)
2. Louisiana (96)
3. App State (80.5)
4. South Alabama (69.33)
T5. Arkansas State (67)
T5. Southern Miss (67)
7. Georgia State (65)
8. Georgia Southern (64.5)
9. Troy (56)
10. Marshall (52)
11. Coastal Carolina (34.5)
12. James Madison (19.33)
13. ULM (19)
Meet Records Broken
Women’s Hammer Throw – Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State [70.81m/232-03]
Women’s Discus Throw – Kimola Hines, Louisiana [54.77m/179-8]
Women’s 800m – Emme Bates, Southern Miss [2:06.88]
Men’s Decathlon – Easton Hammond, Texas State [7,628 points]
Men’s Long Jump – Tyler Nichols, Southern Miss [8.19m/26-10.5]
Men’s Pole Vault – Matthew Gray, App State [5.84m/19-2]
Men’s 110m Hurdles – Ja’Shaun Lloyd, Texas State [13.41]
Men’s 1500m – Derek Waite, App State [3:45.82]
Men’s 3000m Steeplechase – Ethan Lipham, App State [8:49.64]
Sun Belt Records Broken
Men’s Long Jump – Tyler Nichols, Southern Miss [8.19m/26-10.5]
Men’s Pole Vault – Matthew Gray, App State [5.84m/19-2]