VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA – UT Tyler track and field delivered a historic performance on the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships as the Patriots captured the program's first NCAA Division II national championship and produced multiple All-American finishes in a memorable showing.

The headline moment came in the women's 4x400 meter relay as Hannah Lakin, Kamaria Carr, Jasmine Haywood, and Aerin Thompson raced to a national title with a school-record time of 3:36.41, the second-fastest mark in NCAA Division II indoor history.

Running in the final event of the championships, the Patriots quartet steadily climbed through the field. Lakin opened the race with a 55.28 split to place UT Tyler in second, while Carr followed with a 54.59 split to keep the Patriots in contention. Haywood then made the decisive move with a 54.18 split, pushing UT Tyler into the lead heading into the anchor leg. Thompson sealed the victory with a blazing 52.38 split, pulling away down the final stretch to secure the national championship.
 

The national title marks the first NCAA Division II national championship in program history and the first national championship for the women's program since 2017. The four runners also become four of just five women in program history to win a national title.

Earlier in the day, Juliane Frueh opened competition for the Patriots in the women's pentathlon and delivered an impressive all-around performance. Frueh finished sixth overall with 3,859 points, just 132 points shy of third place. She highlighted her day with a second-place finish in the 800 meters (2:15.54) while also placing fifth in the high jump (1.62m) and seventh in the long jump (5.55m) to earn All-American honors.

The Patriots continued their strong day on the track in the men's 4x400 meter relay as Zachary Paul, Corbin Parker, Preston Ayers, and Jakai Timmons delivered a strong performance. The quartet ran 3:10.13, finishing fourth overall and less than a second shy of third place. UT Tyler finished second in their heat with strong splits across the relay, including 48.89 from Paul, 48.36 from Parker, 46.35 from Ayers, and 46.54 from Timmons.

The performance capped off one of the most successful indoor championship appearances in the Division II era for the Patriots, highlighted by a national championship and multiple All-American performances on the national stage.

UT Tyler will now turn its attention to the outdoor season, which begins at the TCU Alumni Invitational on March 20–21 in Fort Worth, Texas.