EUGENE, Ore. – Tennessee men’s track & field returned to the national podium Friday with a third-place team finish at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships, scoring 46 points under the direction of head coach Duane Ross and his staff. The result marked the best outdoor finish for Tennessee in the Ross era and the 12th top-three finish at the meet in program history.
“I’m incredibly proud of the way our men competed this week,” Ross said. “The way we came together and competed, it says a lot about the culture we’ve built and the work these young men have put in throughout the year. We had athletes step up in every phase of the meet, from the throws and jumps to the relays and sprints, and that’s what it takes to contend for a national trophy. This group represented Tennessee with tremendous heart, and we’re excited about the future of our program.”
Friday’s scoring run started with a national title in the 4×100-meter relay from Traunard Folson, Davonte Howell, T’Mars McCallum and Elijah Clark. The quartet turned in a school-record time of 37.98 seconds to earn UT’s first national crown in the event since 1983, while their mark ranks fourth-fastest in NCAA history.
Howell followed up the relay title with a strong individual performance in the 100-meter dash, placing fourth in 9.88 seconds with a slight tailwind (+2.2 m/s). The result was UT’s best NCAA finish in the event since 2022.
Marc Anthony Ibrahim added five points for the Vols in the 400-meter hurdles final, placing fourth with a time of 49.06. It was Tennessee’s best showing in the event since Mark Patrick also placed fourth in 1983.
Junior Grant Campbell had a career day in the men’s high jump, clearing a lifetime-best 2.25 meters (7-4.5) to finish third in the nation. The mark ranks fourth in school history and produced the best NCAA Outdoor Championships finish by a Vol high jumper since 1994, adding six points to Tennessee’s team total.
McCallum returned to the track in the 200-meter dash and secured his second consecutive fifth-place finish at the NCAA outdoor meet, clocking a season-best 20.09 seconds.
The final score was capped by the men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Andre Jackson II, Premier Wynn, Harry Barton and Ibrahim, which delivered a school-record performance of 3:00.74. Ibrahim closed in 44.55 seconds on the anchor leg to help UT place seventh, score two points and bring Tennessee’s final tally to 46.
The Vols also received scoring performances from a trio of field athletes on Wednesday. JL Van Rensburg was runner-up in the men’s shot put, Ismaila Sawaneh finished fourth in the pole vault and Igor Olaru placed eighth in the hammer throw, helping Tennessee total 14 points on the opening day of men’s competition.
