In three days, 422 athletes will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, ready to compete at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. They will represent 98 schools and 23 conferences, each chasing their own version of success. Some will chase scoring a point for their team, while others will strive to stand on the podium, or simply prove they belong among the best athletes in the country. 

Many of the names expected to dominate the meet come from Power Four programs like BYU, Oregon, or Florida.

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But scattered throughout the championship field are athletes from smaller programs who carved out their place among the nation’s elite. With the spotlight on Power Four programs, these competitors have spent the season quietly building resumes strong enough to earn a lane, a runway, or a ring of the throwing circle at the NCAA Championships.

Leading the Charge on the Track

Bradley Franklin will carry the underdog banner into the men's 60m hurdles. The sophomore from Samford University enters the championship as the No. 1 seed, holding a slim 0.04-second advantage over No. 2 Malachi Snow. 

While Samford may be a small school, this is not Franklin's first time making a big impact. He competed at both the 2025 NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships have seen his speed, but after finishing 11th and 15th respectively. Those appearances have provided value experience, and this season he has turned that experience into dominance.

Returning to the stage as the top seed, Franklin has already flipped the narrative, not only competing with the sport's biggest programs but leading the field.

Small Schools Making Big Throws

The field events feature an even stronger presence from outside the Power Four.

In the men's shot put, Quentin Peterson of Garden-Webb University arrives seeded fifth after a historic performance at his conference championships. Peterson launched a 20.10m throw winning the title while setting a new program record.

His mark places him just 0.06 meters behind the second seed, putting him firmly in contention in a tightly packed field.

Making ways for Gardner-Webb, Peterson's qualification represents a milestone moment. His is the first athlete in program history to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the Shot Put, and the University's first Indoor National qualifier in 12 years.

Joining Peterson in the Shot Put is Air Force's Texas Tanner. Tanner sits at the No. 10 spot to Peterson's No. 5, with a program record with a mark of 19.83m. 

Tanner will first compete in the Weight Throw, where he holds the No. 2 seed.

The Wyoming native has built an impressive Championships resume over the past year, competing in multiple NCAA Championship events and winning both the shot put and weight throw at the Mountain West Championships. His momentum took him to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, where he placed ninth in his preliminary flight.

Underdogs on the Women's Side

On the women's side, Rose Kuchera from Duquesne, Tashina Alase of Southern University, and Nayla Harris of the University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley have been defying odds and will represent the little dogs on the big stage. 

Three athletes on the women's side will also represent smaller programs as they take on the national stage.

Coming from the Atlantic-10, Rose Kuchera will represent the Duquesne Dukes in the Long Jump after a breakout season. While competing in the Pentathlon at the 2026 YSU Mid Major Invitational, Kuchera shattered her own program record in the Long Jump. Her jump of 6.52m had put her third in the NCAA at that point of the season and now places her eighth among the championship contenders.

Since arriving on the small Pittsburgh campus, Kuchera has continuously rewritten the program record book. This weekend, she will add another milestone as Duquesne's first NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier.

Heading down south, Tashina Alase will be representing Southern University in the 60m hurdles. 

The junior had a stellar indoor season, breaking her own program record in three consecutive meets. After setting a major PR in the prelims of the event at the 2026 SWAC Conference Championships, Alase came back in the finals to win the event. 

Her new PR ranks eleventh in the NCAA and is seeded as such for the championships.

Alase will enter the championship event a part of the only non-Power 4 school.

Also taking the No. 11 seed is Nayla Harris of the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, who will compete in the 60m dash. Harris enters the meet after a dominant performance at her conference championship, where she ran 7.19 seconds to win the title - only a second off her seed time of 7.18. 

She scored 22 points for UTRGV, helping lead her program to its first conference title in program history. 

The NCAA Indoor Championships will represent a chance for smaller programs to stand alongside track & field's biggest names, with a reminder that even little dogs can make a big impact. 

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