SIMEON BIRNBAUM WINS 1500M TITLE ON HOME TRACK, SAMUEL OGAZI & JAIDEN REID SMASH NCAA SPRINT RECORDS, HABTOM SAMUEL COMPLETES THE DOUBLE + MORE

Another pair of collegiate records fell inside Hayward Field on Friday night at Day 3 of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Alabama’s Samuel Ogazi cemented himself as the greatest quarter-miler to ever grace the NCAA, winning the 400m title in 43.38 — becoming the fourth-fastest man ever in the process. LSU’s Jaiden Reid broke 20 seconds under legal conditions in the 200m for the first time, and got way under 20 seconds. His 19.63 broke Walter Dix’s NCAA record that had stood for nearly two decades.

Simeon Birnbaum delivered a thrilling 1500m victory in front of a home Hayward crowd, pulling away down the home straight with enough cushion to celebrate to his heart’s content. Habtom Samuel dashed Marco Langon’s title hopes by completing the 5K-10K double, while Colin Sahlman cemented one of the best season in collegiate distance running history with an 800m title to end his NCAA career.

A disaster-filled 4x100m saw Tennessee come out on top of a race that only five teams finished, while a ridiculously fast 42.99 anchor leg from Georgia freshman Jonathan Simms led the Bulldogs on an incredible comeback to 4x400m glory.

When the dust settled and the points were tallied, the Arkansas Razorbacks came out on top, completing the season sweep for head coach Doug Case after he took over for Chris Bucknam at the end of the cross country season. The Hogs scores 56 points, seven ahead of the runner-up Dogs of Georgia.

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Host: Paul Hof-Mahoney | ⁠⁠@phofmahoney⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠