Howard University NCAA track 2026 just wrote a new chapter — and the whole HBCU community was on the track in Eugene.
When the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships opened at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 10–13, five historically Black colleges and universities sent athletes to compete. Howard University led the charge with four entries — more than any other HBCU program — and the Bison didn’t just show up. They competed deep into the championship rounds, earned All-America honors, and reminded the country exactly what HBCU athletics can produce when the resources and coaching match the talent.
This wasn’t luck. It was the result of years of deliberate program-building, elite coaching, and a culture at Howard that now genuinely believes it belongs among the nation’s best.
How Howard Got to Eugene
The path to Hayward Field ran through Lexington, Kentucky, where Howard dominated the NCAA East Regional. The Bison qualified in four events — the women’s 200-meter dash, the women’s 400-meter hurdles (two athletes), and the women’s 4×100-meter relay.
Sophomore Yahnari Lyons punched her ticket in the 200 meters with an automatic qualifying time of 22.72 seconds, finishing second in her regional heat. She entered the championships ranked among the nation’s best in the event and backed it up by winning her semifinal heat in 22.36 seconds to advance to the national final.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Howard sent two athletes. Sophomore Cenaiya Billups won her quarterfinal heat in a personal-best 55.09 seconds — breaking Howard’s school record in the process. Senior All-American Aniya Woodruff followed by winning her heat in a personal-best 55.43. Both athletes delivered their best performances at the highest-pressure moment of the season. At nationals, Billups advanced all the way to the championship final, posting a 55.44 in the semifinals — the fourth-fastest time among all finalists. Woodruff narrowly missed the final with a 56.30, but finished her collegiate career with back-to-back Second Team All-America honors.
The Howard University 4×100 relay team — graduate Marcia Sey, juniors Yahnari Lyons and Mackenzie Robinson, and freshman Nilijah Darden — rounded out the Bison’s Eugene presence with a season-best 43.23 seconds at regionals.
The Coach Behind the Rise
None of this happens without Head Coach David Oliver. An Howard University alumnus and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles, Oliver has spent years building the women’s program into something the country has to take seriously.
This spring, Howard ranked 13th nationally in the USTFCCCA National Rating Index — the highest ranking in program history. The Bison also won their fifth consecutive MEAC Outdoor Championship in May, completing a rare triple crown by taking cross country, indoor, and outdoor conference titles in the same academic year. That kind of sustained excellence across all three seasons is hard to build. Oliver has built it.
“Howard is on track to become a national powerhouse, and the women’s team is leading that charge,” said Howard Vice President of Athletics Kery Davis.
The Rest of the HBCU Field in Eugene
Howard led the way, but the full HBCU track and field story in Eugene was bigger than one school. Four other HBCUs sent athletes to nationals, making this one of the strongest collective HBCU showings at the NCAA level in recent memory.
North Carolina A&T arrived in Eugene with arguably the deepest HBCU men’s contingent of anyone. Jason Holmes set both a Colonial Athletic Association and school record in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a 13.17-second run to advance to the finals. Isaiah Taylor and Xzaviah Taylor — the Aggie twins — both advanced in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. The men’s 4×100 relay posted a CAA-record 38.53 to reach the finals, and the 4×400 relay also advanced. Senior Spirit Morgan qualified in the women’s high jump after clearing 1.82 meters, while junior Olivia Dowd advanced in the women’s triple jump with a personal-best 13.23 meters.
Southern University’s Tashina Alase delivered one of the most compelling individual performances of the entire championship. The junior won her 100-meter hurdles semifinal heat in 12.90 seconds to advance to the national final — a result made even more remarkable by the fact that she missed last outdoor season entirely after a serious collision that injured her toe. She came back, ran 12.74 seconds at regionals to earn an automatic qualifying mark, and then advanced to the national final against the country’s best. That’s resilience.
Alabama State freshman Daedrian Beville qualified in the women’s triple jump with a 13.21-meter leap — the only HBCU freshman to punch a ticket to Eugene this year. Florida A&M’s Leonard Mustari also made the trip in the men’s 110-meter hurdles after a personal-best 13.53 seconds at regionals.
What This Moment Means for HBCU Athletics
Five schools. Nine individual and relay entries. Multiple finalists. Several All-America performances. That’s not a fluke — that’s a movement.
For years, talented Black track and field athletes faced a difficult choice: attend an HBCU and risk lower visibility, or go to a Power Five program and get the national exposure that leads to professional opportunities. The 2026 championships push back hard against that narrative. Howard’s athletes competed in the same finals as Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky. NC A&T’s relay teams posted conference records at nationals. Southern’s Alase stood in the starting blocks of a national final after a career-threatening injury.
The recruitment message writes itself. You can attend an HBCU, compete for an HBCU coach, and still stand on the biggest stage in college track and field. That reality is now impossible to argue with.
Furthermore, the financial and institutional investment is starting to show up where it counts — in the results. As Howard builds its research profile and brand, athletic success at the national level amplifies every other part of the university’s story. Corporate sponsors take notice. Recruits take notice. The country takes notice.
The HBCU athletics conversation is no longer just about homecoming and tradition. It’s about national championships, All-America honors, and what happens when historically Black institutions get the support they’ve always deserved.
