The Park University Outdoor Track & Field program has eight individual entries and a relay team on the women's side, and the men's team comes in with seven individual entries and two relays. The team travels to Asheville, N.C. for the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 20-22. 

The Pirates look to carry the momentum forward after placing 3rd in the Heart of America Athletic Conference for the women's and men's teams. Park is also becoming more used to the limelight, as the team had a successful indoor national championship run with an 800m National Champion in Cody Hammond, a 4x800m Runner-Up, and six indoor NAIA All-Americans in total.

Between both teams eight outdoor school records have been captured, seven on the men's side and one on the women's side.

Tune into all the action this week at the championships below, but keep your eyes out for the several Pirates that are coming into the meet Top 10 in the nation.

Cody Hammond is ranked 2nd and 3rd in the 1500m and the 800m events, and the freshman looks to come up big again for the Pirates in Asheville. 

Another National Champion from Park, Rosjai Curtis, who was the 2025 NAIA Long Jump Champion, will represent in the long jump and triple jump again. The sophomore is four for four on making NAIA National Championships between indoor and outdoor seasons and is a six-time NAIA All-American. This year she is ranked 4th in the long jump and 11th in triple jump. She qualified in four events this year, including the 200m and the 4x100m.

Like Curtis, Mya Charles is in multiple events, like the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m. Charles and the rest of the 4x100m relay team, Alexandria Sherman, and Hannah Mand, are all returning from last year's outdoor NAIA All-American performance. Charles is top 10 in the 100m in 6th.

Hope and Faith Klamm, senior twin sisters, are sharing their first NAIA Outdoor National Championship appearances together. Both qualified in the 400m hurdles at the Grand View Viking Invite and are 2nd and 3rd all-time at Park with their qualifying marks. Hope has only one other national championship appearance coming in the 2026 indoor national championships.

Caden Peters will join Hammond in the 1500m event and is just outside the top 10 in 11th. In his first year at Park, he is a two-time indoor NAIA All-American.

Climbing up Park's all-time lists are Sam Thomas, Van Forbes Jr., and Niran Warde. All three are at or near the top of Park All-Time records and in their first years at Park they each are two for two in national championship appearances. Thomas is the Park record holder in the 200m and 400m, but will represent in the 400m with a ranking of 20th. Forbes and Warde are both No. 2 all-time at Park in their respective qualifying events. Forbes will race in the 100m dash with the 22nd fastest time in the nation, while Warde is 26th in the 400m hurdles.

Park's 4x800m relay team was a runner-up at the indoor championship meet and since qualifying again during outdoor season, the 4x800m relay team has some changes with JT Taylor, Ian Walsh, Manuel Reyes, and William Norris running in the event. Taylor qualifies in his first national championship as a Pirate and Walsh will run in his first national championship race, while Reyes and Norris now have multiple qualifications in their careers.

The final qualifier is another distance specialist in the 10,000m in Cayden Walker. He will make his first outdoor national championship appearance, but has now gone to four national championships as a sophomore among cross cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.

See the full list of qualifiers and championship links below.    

Men Qualifiers

Name	Event	Mark/Time	Standard	Rank
Van Forbes Jr	100 Meters	10.42	B	22nd
Niran Warde	400 Hurdles	53.42	B	26th
Sam Thomas	400 Meters	47.44	B	20th
Cody Hammond	800 Meters	1:49.37	A	3rd
Cody Hammond	1500 Meters	3:46.59	A	2nd
Caden Peters	1500 Meters	3:50.90	B	11th
Cayden Walker	10,000 Meters	31:02.96		19th
Warde, Hammond, Thomas, Housh	4 x 400 Relay	3:13.42	B	15th
Taylor, Walsh, Reyes, Norris	4 x 800 Relay	7:31.58	A	4th

Women Qualifiers

Name	Event	Mark/Time	Standard	Rank
Hope Klamm	100 Hurdles	14.06	B	20th
Mya Charles	100 Meters	11.56	A	6th
Mya Charles	200 Meters	24.04	B	14th
Rosjai Curtis	200 Meters	24.45	B	27th
Hope Klamm	400 Hurdles	1:01.98	B	19th
Faith Klamm	400 Hurdles	1:02.21	B	21st
Rosjai Curtis	Long Jump	6.01m	A	4th
Rosjai Curtis	Triple Jump	11.98m	B	11th
Mand, Charles, Curtis, Sherman	4 x 100 Relay	46.59	B	16th