What NCAA indoor track and field collegiate records could fall at the 2026 DI championships after 11 records fell in 2023, three in 2024 and one in 2025? Here are the records that I think should be on notice in Fayetteville.
Records that have already fallen this season
We'll start with the collegiate records in events that take place at the NCAA championships. If an athlete broke the record once, obviously, the record should be on notice to fall again at the NCAA championships
- Women's Mile — Riley Chamberlain | BYU
- Women's 3000m — Doris Lemngole | Alabama
- Women's 5000m — Jane Hedengren | BYU
- Women's shot put — Axelina Johansson | Nebraska
- Men's 60 meters — Kanyinsola Ajayi | Auburn
- Men's weight throw — Ryan Johnson | Iowa
- Heptathlon pole vault — Kenneth (KJ) Byrd | Louisville
MORE RECORDS: Every collegiate track and field record broken in 2026, so far
Records that are held by current athletes but scratched
- Records held by current athletes
- Men's 800 meters — Colin Sahlman | Northern Arizona
Colin Sahlman scratched from the 800 meters and the mile to run only the 3000 meters.
Records that are held by current athletes but set in prior years
Arkansas' Rachel Glenn owns a collegiate record in championship events that was set before 2025. Like the records broken this year, if an athlete breaks the record once, the record should obviously be on notice to fall again at the NCAA Championships.
- Records held by current athletes
- Women's High Jump — Rachel Glenn | Arkansas
Now that those eight records are out of the way, let's look at the rest of the records that should be on notice.
2026 INDOOR T&F CHAMP INFO: Schedule, selections, how to watch, history
Men's records that should be on notice
- 200m | Record: 20.02s by Houston's Elijah Hall-Thompson in 2018
- 400m | Record: 44.49 by Georgia's Christopher Morales Williams in 2024
- 800m | Record: 1:44.70 by Northern Arizona's Colin Sahlman in 2026
- Mile | Record: 3:48.82 by North Carolina's Ethan Strand in 2025
- 3000m | Record: 7:30.15 by North Carolina's Ethan Strand in 2025
- 5000m | Record: 12:57.14 by Northern Arizona's Nico Young in 2024
- 4x400 meter relay | Record: 3:00.77 by Southern California in 2018
- DMR | Record: 9:14.19 by Virginia in 2025
- Heptathlon | Record: 6639 by Georgia's Kyle Garland in 2023
The men's 200 meters should be on notice after USC's Garrett Kaalund ran 20.06 in the Big Ten championships. He's the second-fastest ever.
The men's 400 meters will feature two of the top-10 all-time performers in Georgia's Jonathan Simms and Alabama's Samuel Ogazi. Simms ran 44.62 in his collegiate debut in January and hasn't run sub-45 since. Ogazi has run two sub-45 times in February. Ogazi's PR in the outdoor 400 is 44.43, and while that's one lap vs. two laps, a collegiate record isn't out of reach for the Crimson Tide star.
If Sahlman can break the 800m collegiate record in 2026, it can be broken again even if he's not running. The top candidate to do so is Penn State's Handal Roban. Roban has run the second-fastest all-time mark at 1:44.73 and the fourth-fastest all-time mark of 1:44.91 this season.
SELECTIONS: 2026 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s indoor track and field championships selections
When Ethan Strand set the mile record in 2025, a week later, Virginia's Gary Martin ran the No. 2 all-time mile just 0.5 seconds slower. He's my top candidate to break the record this year among a field that has some of the fastest to ever run the collegiate mile.
Of any track event, I'm probably the least confident that the men's 3K record falls. Villanova's Marco Langon and North Carolina's Colton Sands are two 7:34 runners in the field, and that's still a four-second difference. In a race where winning will be more of a focus than time, the 3K record is less shaky than others.
The men's 5K could see a new all-time leader. New Mexico's Habtom Samuel holds the outdoor record and is the No. 4 all-time performer indoors. Villanova's Marco Langon is the No. 5 all-time performer indoors and is also in the race.
PREDICTIONS: Event-by-event predictions for the 2026 DI Indoor Track and Field Championships
South Carolina ran the No. 2 all-time indoor 4x400 meter relay in mid-February, just 0.1 seconds from history. With championship-winning potential, this record could fall.
We've already seen Michigan and Oregon run 9:14, Virginia Tech run 9:15 and Villanova run 9:16.1 in the DMR this season. We might have to rewrite the top of the record book after Fayetteville.
We're out of the Golden Era of the men's combined events, where we saw all-time battles between Kyle Garland, Ayden Owens-Delerme and Leo Neugebauer, but one holdover remains from that time — Peyton Bair. Bair was only a freshman back in 2023 during those battles, but he's a veteran of combined events now. After the No. 6 all-time point total in January, Bair could have his sights set on the record.
SLEEPERS: Sleeper teams to watch during the men's indoor track and field postseason
Women's records that should be on notice
- 800m | Record: 1:58.40 by Texas A&M's Athing Mu in 2021
- DMR | Record: 10:42.05 by Oregon in 2025
- High jump | Record: 2.00m by Arkansas Rachel Glenn and Texas A&M's Lamara Distin in 2024
- Pole vault | Record: 4.91m by Amanda Moll in 2025
Athing Mu's 800 meter record has been itching to fall in recent years, but no one has been able to break through. At the 2026 DI championships, we'll see Clemson's Gladys Chepngetich (No. 2), Stanford's Juliette Whittaker (No. 4), and Arkansas' Sanu Jallow-Lockhart (No. 5) all race for a title as top-five all-time performers. Penn State’s Hayley Kitching and Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran both ran collegiate records in the 1000 meters this season, too. Can Mu's record hold on for another year?
DEFENDING: Every returning champion for the 2026 DI indoor track and field season
Oklahoma State ran the No. 2 legal time all-time in the DMR to close out the regular season. Arkansas and Iowa State ran two more top-six all-time times in the same race. BYU ran 10:41.85 this season, which converts to a world record 10:33.10 when factoring in altitude and a 323m track. The DMR record is for the taking.
Temitope Adeshina already proved she can win a title in 2025, grabbing the indoor crown as co-champion. Now she's jumped 1.97 meters in 2026. Adeshina has tried her hand at 2.00 meters at two meets this year already. Fayetteville could be where she clears it.
BOWERMAN: The 2026 Bowerman Watch List for men's and women's NCAA track and field
The top candidate to break the pole vault record is the sister of the current record holder. Hana Moll currently sits No. 2 all-time behind her sister Amanda by 0.03 meters. Moll could grab the top spot this weekend.
🧠 WHAT TO KNOW: Comparing indoor and outdoor seasons | Wind and scoring explained | Greatest venues | Best uniforms
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