The Park University outdoor track & field program had an excellent showing at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Asheville, N.C. on Wednesday through Friday, May 20-22. Cody Hammond was crowned the 2026 NAIA 1500m National Champion, two more individual NAIA All-American awards were collected, and one relay captured NAIA All-America distinction as well.

Park's men's track & field team was 25th in the standings with 11 points, while the women's program scored seven points for 38th. The women's team outdoor champion was British Columbia, who scored over 100 points and doubled the next best team, while University of the Cumberlands won the men's championship by nearly 30 points at 79 points for the meet.

In prelims, the Pirates made it to the finals in four events, men's 1500m, men's 800m, women's 4x100m relay, and women's 100m. 

Two personal records came in prelims from the 400m hurdlers, Niran Warde and Hope Klamm. Both were in their first outdoor national championship appearance for Park. 

The final day began with the women's 4x100m relay team, made up of Hannah Mand, Mya Charles, Rosjai Curtis, and Alexandria Sherman. This same group were NAIA All-Americans last year with a school record and they did the same in 2026. This year, their 46.00 time in the prelim was good enough for 8th place and a Park school record. In the final, a 46.40 moved them up a spot into 7th place and solidified them as 2x NAIA Outdoor Track & Field 4x100m All-Americans.

Cody Hammond was the 2026 Heart of America Athletic Conference Male Track Athlete of the Meet at the Heart Championships and was spectacular in his first NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships as a freshman. Going back to the indoor season, he was the NAIA 800m Indoor National Champion. And this outdoor season, he added to his medal count as the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field 1500m National Champion. The day before a 3:59.02 won his heat and a 3:59.19 was his championship title time. He was .43 seconds faster than the 2nd place time and is now a 4x NAIA Track & Field All-American after an 8th place finish in the 800m on a 1:54.19 time.

Hammond is Park's 5th men's track & field national champion in program history, the 4th when just counting the outdoor season. Park's men's and women's programs are now even with five NAIA National Champions each. Daniel Tubei and Crystal Bethel are the other two Pirates in program history to have two national titles. Hammond becomes Park's first track & field athlete to win titles in different events and in both indoor and outdoor seasons.

Mya Charles was a staple for the women's 4x100m relay team and she was called upon again for her 5th race of the week for the 100m final. Earlier that day she raced with the 4x100m relay team and then was fantastic in the 100m final with an 11.80 performance for 4th place. She joins Hammond as the only other Pirate in this championship meet to bring home two NAIA All-American awards.

See the full results for the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
   

Meet Results
100 Meters
Prelims — — Van Forbes Jr — DNS	Prelims 8 — Mya Charles — 11.82Q Finals 4 — Mya Charles — 11.80 *ALL-AMERICAN
100m Hurdles
	Prelims 15 — Hope Klamm — 14.11
200 Meters
	Prelims 13 — Mya Charles — 24.23 20 — Rosjai Curtis — 24.52
400 Meters
Prelims 20 — Sam Thomas — 48.05
400m Hurdles
Prelims 12 — Niran Warde — 52.53 *PERSONAL RECORD	Prelims 16 — Hope Klamm — 1:01.49 *PERSONAL RECORD 23 — Faith Klamm — 1:02.76
800 Meters
Prelims 5 — Cody Hammond — 1:50.09Q Finals 8 — Cody Hammond — 1:54.19 *ALL-AMERICAN
1500 Meters
Prelims 10 — Cody Hammond — 3:59.02Q 16 — Caden Peters — 3:59.83 Finals 1 — Cody Hammond — 3:59.19 *NATIONAL CHAMPION, ALL-AMERICAN
10000 Meters
16 — Cayden Walker — 32:09.36
Long Jump
	11 — Rosjai Curtis — 5.65m / 18-6.50
Triple Jump
	9 — Rosjai Curtis — 11.84m / 38-10.25
4 x 100 Relay
	Prelims 8 — Park U. (Hannah Mand, Mya Charles, Rosjai Curtis, Alexandria Sherman) — 46.00q *NEW PARK RECORD Finals 7 — Park U. (Hannah Mand, Mya Charles, Rosjai Curtis, Alexandria Sherman) — 46.40 *ALL-AMERICAN
4 x 400 Relay
Prelims 21 — Park U. (N. Warde, S. Thomas, C. Peters, C. Housh) — 3:15.36
4 x 800 Relay
Prelims 28 — Park U. (J. Taylor, Ian Walsh, M. Reyes, W. Norris) — 8:04.35