EMPORIA, KANSAS – The UT Tyler track and field program wrapped up the 2026 season on Saturday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships with multiple All-America performances, highlighted by a third-place national finish in the men's 4x400-meter relay.

The Patriots opened the national meet on Thursday with strong performances across multiple events, led by Juliane Frueh in the women's heptathlon. Frueh began the competition with 848 points in the 100-meter hurdles after running 14.95 before adding 806 points in the high jump with a clearance of 1.66 meters. She followed with a mark of 11.37 meters in the shot put worth 619 points and closed day one with a 25.91 finish in the 200 meters for 805 more points. On Friday, Frueh continued her climb in the standings by recording a 5.43 meter mark in the long jump for 680 points and a 34.68 meter throw in the javelin worth 566 points. She then delivered one of the top moments of the meet for UT Tyler by winning the 800 meters in 2:12.33, earning 931 points to secure an eighth-place finish overall with 5,255 points and All-America honors in the heptathlon.

UT Tyler also saw success in the sprint events during the preliminary rounds. Aerin Thompson qualified for the finals of the women's 400 meters after posting the third-fastest qualifying time at 53.42 seconds, while Kamaria Carr finished 16th nationally in the same event with a time of 54.98 to earn Second Team All-America honors.

In relay competition, the Patriots advanced all three relay squads to Saturday's finals. The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Ashton Bates, Landon Smith, Jackson Crysup, and Dylan Bennett qualified with a time of 40.15, while the men's 4x400-meter relay quartet of Dakalon Tyler, Caleb Williams, Preston Ayers, and Jakai Timmons advanced after running 3:07.45 in the preliminaries. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Hannah Lakin, Kamaria Carr, Jasmine Haywood, and Thompson also earned a spot in the finals after posting the second-fastest preliminary time at 3:35.79.

Individually, Bennett narrowly missed the finals in the men's 100 meters with a 10th-place finish in 10.55 to earn Second Team All-America honors, while Brandon Arenas placed 17th nationally in the men's 110-meter hurdles after clocking a 14.63. Lakin added an 18th-place national finish in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.99.

Saturday's finals closed out the season with three more First Team All-America relay performances and another First Team All-America finish from Thompson in the women's 400 meters. Thompson earned sixth place nationally after running 53.51 in the finals.

The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Bates, Smith, Crysup, and Bennett earned First Team All-America honors with a seventh-place finish after crossing in 40.07.

UT Tyler's top finish of the weekend came in the men's 4x400-meter relay as Tyler, Williams, Ayers, and Timmons captured a national bronze medal with a third-place finish in 3:06.03 to earn First Team All-America honors.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Kaylee Monthie, Hannah Lakin, Jasmine Haywood, and Thompson closed out the meet with a sixth-place finish and First Team All-America honors after posting a time of 3:37.65.

The NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships marked the conclusion of another historic season for the Patriots, who finished the year with mutliple All-America honors in Emporia. Thompson earned First Team All-America honors in the women's 400 meters, while Carr secured Second Team All-America recognition in the event. Bennett earned Second Team All-America honors in the men's 100 meters, and Frueh collected Second Team All-America honors in the women's high jump in addition to her All-America finish in the heptathlon. UT Tyler also earned First Team All-America honors in all three relay finals, including the men's 4x100-meter relay along with both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams, highlighted by a national bronze medal performance from the men's 4x400 squad to round out the season.