FAYETTEVILLE – The Texas A&M men's track & field team punched 10 tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on their final day of competition at the NCAA West First Round Friday at John McDonnell Field.
The Aggie men concluded the west regional punching 16 total tickets to the national championships, including 10 on the final day. The Maroon & White's 16 entries to NCAA outdoors is three more than last season where they secured the program's 10th title.
Etoro Bassey got the day started and extended his standout freshman season, qualifying in the high jump. He was faultless through the first three bars and cleared 2.20m/7-2.5 on his third attempt to ensure his spot in Oregon.
Setting the tone on the track was Ja'Qualon Scott, who punched his first of two tickets to nationals on the day, clocking a season-best time of 13.23. His mark was good for second in his heat and fifth overall. Just missing out on the advancing spots was freshman DJ Taylor, who ran a personal-best time of 13.50, which was just 0.01 seconds off 12th. Taylor's time moved him to No. 6 in A&M's record book.
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Following up right after was David Foster in the 100m, clocking the fourth-fastest time in school history after crossing the line in 10.09. His mark secured him third in his heat and fifth overall.
Continuing the momentum was the men's 400m group, who added another two entries to A&M's total. Kimar Farquharson ran 45.30 in the final heat, which was good for second in the section and sixth overall, while Eric Hemphill III ran a career-best time of 45.56 to secure the second timed qualifying position. Musa Isah came up just short on an advancing spot after running a personal-best time of 45.76.
Following the trend of two spots earned, the 800m duo of Peter Narumbe and Reece Sharman-Newell ensured their trip to Tracktown. Narumbe battled in a heat which saw two top-15 marks in NCAA history, as he clocked a personal-best time of 1:44.65, which ranks him at No. 13 in collegiate history and third in the A&M record book. Sharman-Newell also clocked a career mark, finishing in 1:45.47, which jumped him up to No. 6 in the Aggies' all-time performers list.
Doubling down in tickets punched was Scott in the 400m hurdles, as the senior won heat two of the event in 49.24. Standing out among all hurdles nationally, Scott is the only athlete in both the east and west region to qualify for both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles.
Taking the success back to the field, Daniel Falode, like many other Aggies on the day, had a personal-best showing, this time in the triple jump. He leaped a staggering 16.39m/53-9.25, which moved him up to No. 8 in the all-time performers list and captured his spot at the national meet.
Rounding out the day on top was the men's 4x400m relay quartet of Hemphill, Isah, DeMarco Escobar and Farquharson as they won the second heat in 3:01.14, which stood as the No. 1 time in the event. The group's showing booked the 16th-and-final ticket to Oregon for the men's team.
2026 NCAA championships entries
- David Foster – 100m
- Ja'Qualon Scott – 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
- Kimar Farquharson – 400m
- Eric Hemphill III – 400m
- Peter Narumbe – 800m
- Reece Sharman-Newell – 800m
- Aleksandr Solovev – pole vault
- Khybah Dawson – long jump
- Etoro Bassey – high jump
- Daniel Falode – triple jump
- Zaza Nnamdi – javelin
- Sam Hankins – javelin
- Henry Zimmerman – hammer throw
- Blake Harris – decathlon
- 4x400m relay
Next up
The Aggies return to John McDonnell Field tomorrow for the final day of the NCAA West First Round where the women conclude the regional competition.
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