Story By: Preston Bennett

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – As the semester comes close to it’s end, UM’s track and field team is preparing for the 2026 Gulf South Conference (GSC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The team finished fourth at the 2026 GSC Indoor Track & Field Championships, and are looking to do even better next week.

Several school records have been broken this season, as well some athletes reaching NCAA provisional marks, meaning they would have a chance to go to the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Seniors Jeremiah Fails and Christopher Johnson both sit in the top 25 in Division II. Fails sits at 23rd in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.32 seconds. Johnson is ranked 7th in the discus throw. The NCAA takes the top 22 in each event to the Championships.

Johnson said it’s exciting, and that the team has been working hard all year long.

“I’m ready to go out there for conference, have fun, do what I’ve been training for all season,” Johnson said, “Then go out there at Nationals, do what I love to do, have fun and put the best mark out there that I can do.”

The 2026 GSC Outdoor Track & Field Championships start Wednesday at the University of Montevallo, and end on Friday.