All eyes will be on Eddie Nketia when the 2026 NCAA Track and Field Championships kick off tomorrow, but the Australian sprinter will be joined the likes of Hayley Kitching and Lara Roberts in Eugene, Oregon.
With recent Australian champions including hammer thrower Stephanie Ratcliffe for Harvard in 2025 and a 5000m and 10,000m double from Ky Robinson for Stanford in 2023, the nation will be out to continue its strong presence at the event.
Nketia (USC) has already shattered the 10-second barrier three times this season in windy conditions, including an Australian all-conditions record of 9.74 (+5.6), while also registering a wind-legal best of 10.06 (+1.2) last month.
The University of Southern California product will have his work cut out for him with four sub-10 second men in the field headlined by Ajayi Kanyinsola (Auburn), with 27 athletes gunning for nine lanes in the final and Nketia also set to return for the 200m and Men’s 4x100m Relay.
World Indoor finalist Hayley Kitching (Penn State) is enjoying a dream run in 2026 with 19 races already under her belt, but her most recent appearance was her most promising yet with a career-best 1:59.15 showing.
The fourth ranked seed will be chasing collegiate leader Sanu Jallow (Arkansas) who owns 1:57.74 credentials, but with 13 wins to her name from those 19 races, Kitching will be fearless in her bid to be crowned NCAA champion for the very first time.
World Championships hammer thrower Lara Roberts (Texas State) will look to follow in the footsteps of Stephanie Ratcliffe and make it back-to-back Australian wins on the NCAA stage, ranked fifth in the field with her seasons best of 67.76m.
Roberts will be seeking a throw closer to her 70.97m best which sits her in third place on the Australian all-time list, with Marie Rougetet (Mississippi State) the only athlete in the field to have eclipsed the 70-metre marker in 2026.
World Under 20 medallist Marley Raikiwasa (Auburn) launched the shot put 17.57m at the regionals to record the farthest throw by an Australian woman since the 1980’s, arriving in Eugene with hopes of continuing her major championship form.
Raikiwasa clinched bronze in the discus throw at the 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Lima and made the final in 2022’s instalment in Cali, now stepping up her shot put game after setting a new Australian Under 20 record in 2024.
Australia’s hopes of continuing its rich middle-distance history at the NCAA Championships will sit with Tomas Palfrey (Oregon) and Max Hooper (Lipscomb) over 1500m, along with a resurgent Imogen Gardiner (Boston College) who will tackle both the 1500m and 5000m.
In the field, Charlize Goody (Texas State) will lead the charge in the Women’s Javelin Throw having thrown a personal best of 52.62m last month.
The 2026 NCAA Track and Field Championships are being held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from June 10-13.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 10/6/2026
