Middle Tennessee Opens CUSA Championships with Pair of Gold Medals

5/14/2026 11:08:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country

By: Edly Termilien / MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee opened the 2026 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with two event titles Thursday as Moses Lekokei and Faith Nyathi captured the men's and women's 10,000-meter crowns, while several Blue Raiders advanced to finals.

Jason Smallwood finished fourth in the men's long jump with a distance of 7.42 meters. Joel Iheakolam came in sixth, setting a season best at 7.19 meters. In the women's long jump, Viktoria Rusnakova and Xarya Udoumana both reached 5.88 meters to tie for ninth place, and Laura Odivwri set her season best with a jump of 5.78 meters.

Tamia Waters quickly finished the women's 100-meter hurdles prelims in 13.93 seconds, earning her place in the final. Ella Miller achieved a new personal best with a time of 14.53 seconds. In the women's 1500-meter prelims, Privillege Chikara and Lily Storey both earned spots in the final, finishing in 4:22.24 and 4:31.49. Viviana Salonia and Lauren Cole also improved their personal bests with times of 4:37.05 and 4:39.93. On the men's side, Solomon Sayo, Abraham Valenzuela, and Gabe Allen all moved on to the 1500-meter final, finishing in 3:53.05, 3:57.21, and 3:58.17. In the 400-meter prelims, James Thomas Jr. and Chidinma Agu both advanced to the next round, posting strong times of 47.56 and 53.60 seconds.

In the Men's 100m preliminaries, Mustapha Bokpin achieved a personal best of 10.09 seconds, ranking him 24th nationally among 2026 DI College Outdoor Rankings and qualifying him for the next round. Evan Tomlinson also set a personal best, running 10.42 seconds.

The Blue Raiders ended the day on a high note, dominating the 10,000 meters. Lekokei surged to victory in 29:46.33, while Nyathi crossed the line in 35:07.53.

UP NEXT:
Middle Tennessee will host the second day of the 2026 CUSA Outdoor Championship on Friday, May 15, at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium. Events begin at 9:30 am.

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