As the indoor season comes to a close, the Auburn Tigers track and field team is set to send eight athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championship this Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
After their performance at the SEC Indoor Championships, in which the Tigers brought home three individual championships, Auburn will hope to keep the ball rolling in nationals this weekend. Here is a brief overview of every athlete Auburn is sending to compete in Fayetteville.
Kayinsola Ajayi - Men’s 60 M
One of three Tigers being sent to compete in the 60 M, Ajayi, a junior from Lagos Ikorodu, was recently awarded the SEC Male Runner of the Year, along with being named to the 2026 All-SEC First Team. Ajayi is fresh off of making history in the SEC Championships, his official time of 6.45 in the 60 M tied the collegiate national record for the event. With now two SEC individual championships in the 60 M under his belt, Ajayi will look to add to his impressive collegiate resume this weekend.
Megan Hague - Women’s Shot Put
A fellow All-SEC First Team member, Hague, a senior from Niceville, Fla., recently broke Auburn’s school record with an 18.89 M toss in the SEC championship to take home the gold. Statistically the best female thrower in the school’s history, Hague will hope to make history one final time in Fayetteville and possibly add on to her previous school record.
Omari Lewis - Men’s 60 M
Another participant in the 60 M, Lewis, the senior from Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago, broke onto the scene for the Tigers in both the 60 M and 200 M events this season after transferring in from Liberty earlier this year. Lewis recorded a variety of top-10 finishes this season, including a fourth place finish in the 60 M and a 6th place finish in the 200 M during the Tiger Paw Invite in Clemson last February.
Camryn Massey - Women’s Shot Put
Taking place in nationals for the first time, Massey, the sophomore from Gastonia, N.C., is coming off a fifth place finish in the SEC Championship. Her distance of 17.15 M in the meet was a personal best and helped put the emerging thrower into the spotlight. Along with Hague, Massey have been arguably the best thrower duo in the SEC this year.
Danae Nembhard - Women’s 60 M Hurdles
A member of the All-SEC Second Team this year, Nembhard, a senior from Portmore, Jamaica, will also be making her first career NCAA Indoor appearance. She is coming off a second-place finish in the 60 M hurdles even in the SEC Championship, ending with a time of 7.93. Her time of 7.91 in the event last February is tied for the school record.
Israel Okon - Men’s 60 M
An All-SEC Third Team member, Okon, the Sophomore from Asaba, Nigeria, took home the bronze in the men’s 60 M during the SEC Championship, with a time of 6.54. Okon is a part of Auburn’s electric trio set to compete in the 60 M this weekend, and can be expected to represent Auburn in the Indoor Nationals for years to come as a young talent.
Ja’Kobe Tharp - Men’s 60 M Hurdles
The reigning national champion in this event, Tharp, the junior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is the third Tiger to be named to the All-SEC First Team this season. Tharp took home gold in the SEC Championship for the second straight season with a run time of 7.48. He is considered to be the fastest in this event in the nation and hopes to add to his already esteemed trophy case this weekend in Fayetteville.
Ana-Liese Torian - Women’s 60 M Hurdles
Returning to nationals for the second straight season, Torian, the junior from Flossmoor, Ill., tied Nembhard’s school record of 7.91 earlier this season. Now, the dynamic duo will try to continue to make history and possibly break the school record once again.
The first event Friday is set to begin at 5 p.m. CST.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
