2026 NCAA indoor preview: Gary Martin, Colin Sahlman, Marco Langon chase first NCAA individual titles
The ULTIMATE NCAA Indoor preview
By Jonathan Gault
The 2026 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are this weekend, returning to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., for the first time since 2021. That meet served as the coming-out party for a 19-year-old American named Cole Hocker, who won his first NCAA title in the mile and followed it up barely an hour later by winning the 3,000 as well over Cooper Teare. Five years later, he’s still doing pretty well.
Who will be the star of the weekend in Arkansas in 2026? Villanova’s Marco Langon has made headlines all season for his close finishes and unfiltered post-race interviews, and he is among the favorites in the 3,000 and 5,000. But he will face a challenge in two-time NCAA champ Habtom Samuel of New Mexico as well as North Carolina’s latest distance star, Colton Sands.
Virginia senior Gary Martin, who anchored the Cavaliers to victory in the DMR last year, is seeking his first individual NCAA title. So is Northern Arizona’s Colin Sahlman, the NCAA 800m record holder who has scratched the 800 so that he can attempt the DMR/3,000 double.
With only one clear favorite in the men’s distance events (Penn State’s Handal Roban in the 800), NCAAs will be must-watch as always. We will have boots-on-the-ground coverage in Fayetteville, with analysis and interviews, starting on Friday. We will also be recording a preview NCAA podcast for our Supporters Club members on Thursday (and hopefully a post-NCAA podcast on Saturday). To get that, join the SC today.
Here’s your guide to the men’s distance races at NCAAs in the order that they occur.
On the women’s side Doris Lemngole and Jane Hedengren square off for the third time and our women’s previews is here.
*Schedule, entries & results *TV & Streaming *All LRC 2026 NCAA Indoor coverage
Men’s 5,000m (Friday, 8:25 p.m. ET): Another title for Samuel, or a first-time champion?
1 Habtom Samuel JR New Mexico 13:05.21D 2 Marco Langon JR Villanova 13:05.21D 3 Denis Kipngetich JR OK State 13:12.91D 4 Kelvin Cheruiyot FR Florida 13:15.57D 5 Elsingi Kipruto FR Louisville 13:15.74D 6 Ernest Cheruiyot JR Arkansas 13:17.48D 7 Colton Sands SR North Carolina 13:17.88D 8 Evans Kiplagat JR New Mexico 13:18.05D 9 Rodgers Kiplimo JR IA State 13:18.35D 10 Robin Kwemoi Bera SO IA State 13:18.72D 11 Tayvon Kitchen FR BYU 13:19.17D 12 Creed Thompson SR BYU 13:21.43D 13 Dismus Lokira SO Alabama 13:21.54D 14 Myles Hogan SR Princeton 13:21.57D 15 Evan Jenkins JR Washington 13:22.28D 16 Abdel Laadjel SR Oregon 13:24.17D
Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau, the defending NCAA indoor/outdoor 5,000 champion, has been injured this winter and is not running at NCAAs. In his absence, there are three main contenders for the title.
Habtom Samuel, New Mexico (13:04 pb)
Samuel would seem like the natural successor to Musau, given he finished 2nd behind Musau in the NCAA indoor and outdoor 5,000 finals in 2025. He was also the NCAA cross country champion in November, though the NCAA XC champ hasn’t won this race since 2019 (Morgan McDonald).
Samuel is known as a strength guy, and he spent the first half of the winter prepping for the Houston Half Marathon, where he ran 59:01 on January 11. But he has also shown a dangerous kick in the past. Last year, Samuel ran 13:11 at NCAA indoors — breaking the meet record — and still ran his last lap in 26.37. That’s a killer close; he just happened to be overshadowed by Musau, who closed in 25.82.
Colton Sands, North Carolina (13:17 pb)
With Parker Wolfe and Ethan Strand now professionals, Sands has emerged as the man in Chapel Hill and is looking to join his former teammates as an NCAA champion after a breakout 2026. Sands’ previous best finish at NCAAs is just 12th (’25 outdoor 5,000), but he has run personal bests in the mile (3:54), 3,000 (7:34), and 5,000 (13:17) this season. He also had the most impressive 5,000 win of conference weekend at ACCs, destroying Virginia’s Gary Martin by more than a second and closing in 26.40 in a 13:40 race.
Marco Langon, Villanova (13:05 pb)
After a 2025 outdoor season that saw him finish 3rd at NCAAs in the 5,000 and run a personal best of 13:12 in July, Langon picked up a foot injury and decided to redshirt the XC season as a result. He came around sooner than expected — he ran 13:05 in December — but said he was never tempted to pull the redshirt and try to win his first NCAA title in XC. His plan had always been to go for the indoor title, and he was not straying from it.
“My goal was to win indoors this year, not win cross,” Langon said. “…I do not care about any other race except for March.”
Now March is here. Can Langon deliver?
He has already been part of tight finishes with both Samuel and Sands this season. In December, Samuel ran down Langon at the line to beat him by thousandths in the 5,000 at BU. On the same track two months later, Langon beat Sands in a fast 3,000 (7:34.00 to 7:34.05), but his move to cut off a charging Sands at the finish would have been a DQ at NCAAs.
With Langon in the race, drama is practically guaranteed, and his post-race interview will be a must-watch. Win or lose, it is going to be an emotional race. And no athlete wears their heart on their sleeve like Langon.
Kevin Morris photo
Who wins the men's 5,000 at NCAAs?
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JG prediction: I’m picking Samuel FTW; I like his strength and ability to stretch out the field over the final kilometer or two, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the above three win the title. And keep an eye on BYU true freshman Tayvon Kitchen. He may still be a year or two away from being able to win an NCAA title, but he showed no fear in attacking Langon and Sands in the 3,000 in Boston in February.
Men’s distance medley relay (Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET)
1 Michigan 9:14.80D
1) Brendan Herger SO 2) Miles Brown SR
3) Camden Law SR 4) Trent McFarland JR
5) Henry Dixon FR 6) John O'Reilly JR
7) Riley Flemington JR 8)
2 Oregon 9:14.88D
1) Simeon Birnbaum SO 2) Fuad Omer JR
3) Elliott Cook SR 4) Tomas Palfrey SR
5) Cain Evans FR 6) James Harding JR
7) Matthew Erickson SR 8) Grant Valley FR
3 VA Tech 9:15.05D
1) Dylan DeCambre JR 2) Calvin Meyer JR
3) Christian Jackson JR 4) George Couttie JR
5) Nicholas Plant SR 6) Nabil Tezkratt JR
7) Samuel Idiens JR 8) Viktor Idhammar SR
4 Villanova 9:16.10D
1) Sean Donoghue JR 2) Ethan Walls JR
3) Dan Watcke SO 4) Marco Langon JR
5) Ben Thomas SO 6) Bailey Habler SO
7) Chris Sullivan SO 8) James Milgie SR
5 Virginia 9:16.75D
1) Nathan Mountain SR 2) Anders Felts FR
3) Tyler Edson JR 4) Gary Martin SR
5) Harrison Witt SR 6) Harry Economon FR
7) Alex Leath JR 8) Justin Wachtel SR
6 No. Arizona 9:16.98D
1) Clay Shively SO 2) Josiah Johnson SO
3) Tor Hotung-Davidsen SR 4) Colin Sahlman SR
5) Rheinhardt Harrison SO 6) Ford Washburn JR
7) Luke Yruretagoyena SR 8) Nicolas Martinez SO
7 Washington 9:17.03D
1) Thomas Diamond JR 2) Alexander Rhodes JR
3) Tyler Bilyard SR 4) Reuben Reina SR
5) Josiah Tostenson FR 6) Jamar Distel JR
7) Martin Barco SO 8) Owen Powell FR
8 Arkansas 9:17.30D
1) Owan Logorodi FR 2) Jordan Pierre JR
3) Tyrice Taylor SR 4) Brian Masai SR
5) Julian Carter FR 6) Zyaire Nuriddin JR
7) Josh Rammage FR 8) Dapriest Hogans SR
9 Wisconsin 9:18.44D
1) Andrew Casey JR 2) Jalen Williams SR
3) Patrick Hilby SO 4) Archie Noakes SO
5) Liam Newhart SO 6) Zion Ometesa FR
7) Henry Risser FR 8)
10 Penn State 9:18.58D
1) Allon Clay SR 2) Handal Roban JR
3) Niko Schultz SR 4) Nick Sloff SO
5) Kaleb Nastari JR 6) Matt DeMatteo SR
7) Ryan Watson JR 8) Yukichi Ishii SR
11 BYU 9:18.97D
1) Tayvon Kitchen FR 2) Jonah Heimuli SO
3) Jake Orr SO 4) Carter Cutting JR
5) Brayden Packard SO 6) Isaac Hedengren JR
7) Max Davis SO 8) Jacob Robison FR
12 Colorado 9:19.00D
1) Justine Kipkoech JR 2) Danny Tragarz JR
3) Drew Costelow JR 4) Isaiah Givens JR
5) TJ Hansen FR 6) Kole Mathison JR
7) Lukas Haug SR 8)
In recent years, one of the keys to winning the DMR has been to have a fresh anchor leg — the last time someone won the DMR with their anchor doubling back from an individual prelim was Virginia Tech and Neil Gourley back in 2018. But that makes it difficult to forecast this year’s race as many of the top schools’ presumptive anchor legs are entered in individual events on Friday.
#1 seed Michigan? Their anchor Trent McFarland is running the mile prelims.
#2 seed Oregon? The Ducks ran three DMRs this year, with two different anchors: Elliott Cook and Tomas Palfrey. Both are running the mile.
#3 seed Virginia Tech? George Couttie is running the mile.
#4 seed Villanova? Marco Langon is running the 5k.
#5 seed Virginia? Gary Martin is running the mile. Martin is the second-fastest miler in NCAA history (3:48 pb) and anchored UVA to the win last year. But he is the only member of that team returning this year, and Martin hasn’t been quite as good in 2026 as he was in 2025.
The top seed with a fresh anchor is #6 Northern Arizona. They will be dangrous with Colin Sahlman, the collegiate record holder in the 800 (1:44/3:33/7:36 pbs), running the 1600 leg.
But anyone doubling back in 2026 will have a bit more recovery than in recent years. In 2025, the gap between the men’s mile prelims and DMR was 1 hour, 50 minutes. In 2026, it’s 3 hours, 10 minutes as for the first time since COVID, the NCAA is going to run the men’s and women’s meet at the same time instead of finishing up one sex before starting the other. Coaches may be slightly more willing to gamble with their studs.
It’s also worth noting that Michigan and Oregon have strong options if they want to run a fresh anchor. Michigan has Brendan Herger, who finished 9th in the NCAA 1500 final as a true freshman last year. Oregon has Simeon Birnbaum, who was 7th in the NCAA 1500 final and swept the 3k/5k at Big 10s.
Who wins the men's DMR at NCAAs?
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JG prediction: Oregon’s squad has the most talent on paper. They can run a 3:33 guy on the 1200 leg (Cook), the reigning NCAA champion in the 800 (Matthew Erickson), and Birnbaum on anchor. I’m taking the Ducks FTW. But they may need to build up a lead, because if Sahlman and Martin are close at the final exchange, NAU and UVA will be very dangerous.
Men’s mile (Saturday, 5:20 p.m. ET): Almost everyone has a chance in this one
1 Isaiah Givens JR Colorado 3:51.73D 2 George Couttie JR VA Tech 3:52.02D 3 Elliott Cook SR Oregon 3:52.32D 4 Reuben Reina SR Washington 3:52.37D 5 Pierre Attiogbe JR Cornell 3:52.44D 6 Thomas Diamond JR Washington 3:52.49D 7 Gary Martin SR Virginia 3:52.62D 8 Trent McFarland JR Michigan 3:52.73D 9 Carter Cutting JR BYU 3:52.84D 10 Paul Specht SR Wake Forest 3:52.95D 11 Justine Kipkoech JR Colorado 3:53.05D 12 Tor Hotung-Davidsen SR No. Arizona 3:53.51D 13 Matthew Endrody SO New Mexico 3:53.65D 14 Tomas Palfrey SR Oregon 3:53.86D 15 Jaouad Khchina JR South Carolina 3:53.90D 16 Connor McCormick SR Princeton 3:54.35D
Based on prior accomplishments, the two favorites in this race should be UVA’s Gary Martin and Colorado’s Isaiah Givens. Martin is the top returner from the 2025 NCAA outdoor 1500 final (5th) and has run the second-fastest mile in NCAA history (3:48). Givens is the top returner from the 2025 NCAA indoor mile final (5th) and has the fastest seed time this year (3:51.73 — converted from a 3:57.52 at altitude in Boulder). You could also make an argument for Oregon’s Elliott Cook, who has run 3:33 outdoors and was the NCAA 1500 runner-up in 2024.
Yet Martin has only raced one mile all year (he was 8th at Millrose in 3:52), Givens was only 3rd in the mile at Big 12s, and Cook was only 3rd at Big 10s. None of them is an overwhelming favorite here, which means almost everyone in the field will enter the meet thinking they have a shot at victory.
The most competitive conference meet was the Big 10, which was won for the second year in a row by Michigan’s Trent McFarland. He showed nice composure in that race to win against a field that included four of the top eight seeds at NCAAs.
Other conference champions include BYU’s Carter Cutting (Big 12), Wake Forest’s Paul Specht (ACC), and Princeton’s Connor McCormick (Ivy), whom LetsRun is anointing as our upset special. McCormick was the last guy into the meet — he was just .02 away from missing out — but he was sensational at the Heps meet, where he blew away Cornell’s 3:52 man Pierre Attiogbe by more than a second, ripping his last 200 in 25.08 in a 4:01 race. That kind of closing speed will play at NCAAs.
JG prediction: I’ll take McFarland FTW after his well-measured effort to win Big 10s, but nothing would surprise me in this race.
Who wins the men's mile at NCAAs?
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Men’s 800 (Saturday, 6:20 p.m. ET): Roban leads a stacked field
1 Handal Roban JR Penn State 1:44.73D 2 Tinoda Matsatsa JR Georgetown 1:45.12D 3 Allon Clay SR Penn State 1:45.17D 4 Rivaldo Marshall SR Arkansas 1:45.62D 5 Landon Bott JR UT State 1:45.72D 6 Matthew Erickson SR Oregon 1:45.93D 7 Camden Marshall SR Indiana 1:45.99D 8 Brian Kweyei JR Clemson 1:46.02D 9 Tyrice Taylor SR Arkansas 1:46.11D 10 Peter Narumbe FR TX A&M 1:46.13D 11 Joseph Socarras FR Penn 1:46.28D 12 Yukichi Ishii SR Penn State 1:46.37D 13 James Harding JR Oregon 1:46.44D 14 Tyler Edson JR Virginia 1:46.48D 15 Miguel Pantojas JR Florida 1:46.49D 16 Niko Schultz SR Penn State 1:46.53D
In case you haven’t been paying attention, 2026 has been the Year of the indoor 800. The men’s and women’s world records, which had stood for a combined 53 years, have both gone down. And we’ve had not one, but two men go under Paul Ereng‘s 37-year-old NCAA record of 1:44.84 this season: NAU’s Colin Sahlman (1:44.70), who is running the DMR/3k at NCAAs, and Penn State’s Handal Roban (1:44.73), who is running the 800.
The season has been so fast that the last two NCAA indoor champions, Arkansas’ Rivaldo Marshall (1:45.62) and Oregon’s Matthew Erickson (1:45.93), have both run indoor pbs and neither are among the top three seeds at NCAAs.
Roban is the favorite. He has run 1:44 twice this season and has the fastest 800 pb in the field by far: he ran an out-of-nowhere 1:42.87 to win NACACs last summer for his native St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
Georgetown’s Tinoda Matsatsa, who was 4th last year and made the Olympic Trials final as a 19-year-old, is a big talent and another one to watch. And keep an eye on Texas A&M’s Kenyan freshman Peter Narumbe, who is undefeated this season and defeated Marshall to win SECs.
One other fun fact: Penn State has four men in the field, including the two fastest Japanese men ever in the indoor 800, Allon Clay (1:45.17) and Yukichi Ishii (1:47.37).
Who wins the men's 800 at NCAAs?
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JG prediction: Heavy favorites lose at this meet all the time, but Handal Roban has to be the pick here.
Men’s 3,000 (Saturday, 7:25 p.m. ET): Everyone’s doubling back
1 Marco Langon JR Villanova 7:34.00D 2 Colton Sands SR North Carolina 7:34.05D 3 Tayvon Kitchen FR BYU 7:36.23D 4 Colin Sahlman SR No. Arizona 7:36.71D 5 George Couttie JR VA Tech 7:36.74D 6 Habtom Samuel JR New Mexico 7:37.44D 7 Tomas Palfrey SR Oregon 7:39.03D 8 Benjamin Balazs JR Oregon 7:39.31D 9 Simeon Birnbaum SO Oregon 7:39.65D 10 Jesse Hamlin SR Butler 7:39.70D 11 Ernest Cheruiyot JR Arkansas 7:40.53D 12 Taha Er Raouy JR E. Kentucky 7:40.56D 13 Connor Burns SO Oregon 7:40.80D 14 Isaac Hedengren JR BYU 7:41.48D 15 Elliott Cook SR Oregon 7:41.57D 16 Reuben Reina SR Washington 7:42.02D
As usual, Friday’s events will offer a guide as to how Saturday’s 3,000, the final individual event of the meet, will play out. In 10 of the last 12 years, the winner of the 3,000 was a guy doubling back from a victory in an earlier event. The major players in the 5,000 — Samuel, Langon, and Sands — are all here. So are dangerous DMR anchors Birnbaum, Sahlman, and Virginia Tech’s George Couttie.
Kevin Morris photo
Who wins the men's 3,000 at NCAAs?
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JG prediction: My gut is steering me towards Sahlman. He often struggles tactically, but tactics and positioning aren’t quite as important in a 3,000 as in an 800 or mile. I expect his 1:44 speed and late burst of acceleration to power him to his first NCAA individual title.
Team Battle
Host Arkansas is the #1 team in the USTFCCCA computer rankings. But when Robert Johnson scored the entries using Gemini, the top 5 team scores looked like this:
1 Oregon 39
2 Florida 35
3 Oklahoma 30.5
4 Arkansas 29.5
T-5 Tennessee 27
T-5 Texas Tech27
Dyestat’s Jack Pfeifer has projected Oregon to edge Arkansas by one, 51 to 50.
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