Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Kats win two titles at CUSA Outdoor Championships
5/17/2026 9:54:00 PM | Track & Field
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Sam Houston Athletics capped the 2026 Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with one individual title, one relay championship and a host of podium finishes at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.
The Bearkat women were led by Nia Thompson, who captured the Conference USA title in the women's long jump with a leap of 6.32 meters. Taniah Coleman added a third-place finish at 6.11 meters to give Sam Houston two of the top three spots in the event.
Nora Ryan placed fifth in the women's 800-meter final with a time of 2:08.48 and later helped the 4x400-meter relay team to a sixth-place finish in 3:42.35 with Emmanuella Squire, Michayla Ivory and Jayden Piper.
Kapualani Magnani scored in the hammer throw, finishing sixth with a mark of 52.87 meters. The women's 4x100-meter relay of Amaya Kennison-Jenkins, Piper, Alyssa Jolly and Thompson placed eighth in 45.93.
The men produced a championship performance in the 4x400-meter relay as Joshua Sims-Waddy, Xzamion Parker, Omarion Ferguson and Caleb Anthony raced to the conference title in 3:06.33.
Ferguson earned bronze in the men's 200-meter final with a time of 20.62, while Parker took fifth in 20.95 after placing fourth in the 100-meter final in 10.22. Sims-Waddy added a third-place finish in the 400 meters at 46.66.
Anthony placed third in the 800-meter final in 1:48.91, followed closely by Jabari Mitchell in fourth (1:49.86) and Christian Rohlack in fifth (1:51.11). Rohlack also finished 12th in the 1,500-meter prelims in 3:59.12, while Anthony Perez placed 13th in 4:02.36.
In the hurdles, Will Smith finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles final in 14.01, while Davonne Fossie was seventh in 14.50 and later placed ninth in the 400-meter hurdles in 59.48.
In the throws, Nikos Fotinopoulos earned bronze in the hammer throw with a mark of 62.02 meters. Mateo Ortiz placed sixth in the shot put at 16.58 meters, while Fotinopoulos was 10th in the shot put (14.71m) and recorded a mark of 46.21 meters in the discus. Mario Ruiz placed ninth in the 10,000 meters in 30:26.27 and 10th in the 5,000 meters in 14:48.02.
The Bearkats also received strong contributions in the jumps. Parker Brown placed 10th in the high jump. Kyle Kiser finished 12th in the long jump at 6.93 meters and 10th in the triple jump at 14.66 meters, while Kaleb Kiser was 16th in the long jump (6.44m) and 11th in the triple jump (14.40m).
Additional sprint performances included Tyriq Brunn placing ninth in the 200-meter prelims in 21.06 and 10th in the 100-meter prelims in 10.43. Ikenna Opara was 14th in the 200 prelims (21.23) and 16th in the 100 prelims (10.66). Javain Johnson placed 13th in the 100 prelims (10.52) and 23rd in the 200 prelims (21.81), while Nathan Williams finished 19th in the 100 prelims (10.72) and 24th in the 200 prelims (21.92). Harley Jensen took 23rd in the 100 prelims in 11.04.
On the women's side, Ivory placed 23rd in the 100-meter prelims (12.18) and 18th in the 200 prelims (24.40), while Kennison-Jenkins was 13th in the 200 prelims (24.22). Squire and Kennison-Jenkins finished 14th and 15th in the 400-meter prelims in 56.05 and 56.16, respectively. Ellie Galan placed 12th in the 1,500 meters in 4:23.85 and 32nd in the 5,000 meters in 17:58.10. Avery Brown was 10th in the 5,000 meters, and Sophia Phillip finished 16th. Makensi Greenwood placed 12th in the 400-meter hurdles prelims in 1:03.58.
In the women's field events, Dannette Haygood was 14th in the long jump and 11th in the triple jump. Trinity Anscombe and Jatoryia Barns also competed in the long jump. Breanna Murphy led the Bearkats in the shot put with an 11th-place finish, while Madeline Ackers, Alauna Richardson and Magnani contributed in the throws.
With two conference championships, nine podium finishes and scoring performances across the track and field, Sam Houston had a strong shwoing to close out the 2026 outdoor season.Â
