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Eugene, Oregon, awaits the Florida A&M track and field program.
Six Rattler athletes will compete in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Male hurdler Leonard Mustari punched his ticket to the 110-meter hurdles NCAA final with a personal best of 13.53 seconds at Lexington, Kentucky’s East Preliminaries, earning a spot among the nation’s best. The junior from Fort Myers set multiple school records on The Highest of Seven Hills.
The FAMU women’s 4x100 relay team has also qualified for nationals, clocking a 43.31 in Lexington, a school and Southwestern Athletic Conference record.
The history-making relay team is Kiersten Clark, Diandrenique Gaines, Janaree Kinchen, and Arayana Ladson. Ty’yana Adams will travel with the team as an alternate.
“I’m proud of the fact that they advanced through,” FAMU’s director of track and field, Garfield Ellenwood II, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “It goes to the commitment from the athletes and staff.”
The NCAA championships run from Wednesday, June 10, until Saturday, June 13. The University of Oregon hosts the national meet on Hayward Field. The team departed from Tallahassee on Sunday, June 7.
It has been over a decade since FAMU has brought multiple athletes to nationals.
In 2025, Jamaican phenom Kirk Dawkins represented the Orange and Green in the 800-meter race in Eugene. He was Ellenwood’s first FAMU athlete to qualify since becoming the head coach and director in January 2023.
“The last three years we’ve been able to change the culture and show what’s possible if you put in work,” Ellenwood reflected. “To take multiple athletes to the final round means we’re going in the right direction. Ultimately, you’ve got to have bodies in Eugene if you want to win a national championship.”
The FAMU six heading to the NCAA championships caps off a championship season that saw the women’s track and field team sweep the SWAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Mustari has an individual SWAC title in February’s indoor 60-meter hurdles. The 4x100 team won gold at the outdoor championships in May.
Ellenwood knows that his FAMU team is history in the making. They could become Rattler royalty alongside coaches Bobby Lang and Pete Griffin and the world’s fastest human, ‘Bullet’ Bob Hayes.
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“Hopefully, we can leave our mark and show that we belong amongst those greats and we have a reputation and history to live up to,” Ellenwood said. “Hopefully, we’re living up to the brand well, so the community, our supporters, and alumni are happy with it.”
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU track sending six to 2026 NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon
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