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BYU's Ben Barton accepts the gold medal for winning the 2026 decathlon title at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU's Jane Hedengren, front, competes in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU's Ben Barton competes in the 1500 meters for the decathlon at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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Heading into the final event of the decathlon at the NCAA Championships on Thursday, BYU’s Ben Barton needed a big finish in the 1500 meters.

He got it.

Barton trailed Louisville’s Kenneth Byrd by 50 points going into that grueling final race at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., and needed to win by seven seconds to secure the title. Grinding through the final stretch run, Barton turned in a personal best time of 4:32.61, just over eight seconds better than Byrd.

“Coach (Tiffany) Hogan put me in a really good spot to take the title today” Barton said. “I made a few mistakes in some areas but was able to make up for it in others and ultimately win it.”

Barton is the first BYU champion in the multi-event in more than 45 years on the second day of the NCAA Outdoor National Championships at Hayward Field Thursday.

The senior, competing in his final season in a Cougar uniform, ended with 8,169 points, the second most in BYU history just behind Tito Stiener’s national title performance in 1981. Barton finished out the final five events winning by a margin of just nine points over Byrd.

Barton led the competition by 130 points after a strong Day 1 performance but Byrd was terrific on the second day, earning fifth in the 110-meter hurdles, ninth in the discuss, first in the pole vault and 17th in the javelin to retake the lead.

Barton opened Thursday with a 14.20 second 110-meter hurdles in which he took third overall to claim 949 points. The All-American then garnered 706 points in the discus where he threw a personal-record 138-3 and took 12th. Barton then cleared a season-best 14-1.75 in the pole vault to finish 16th in which he earned 705 points. He then broke another personal best in the javelin throw with a mark of 180-11 on his second attempt to gain eighth place and 665 points.

Barton, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now the second straight NCAA decathlon champion of his faith with Mississippi State’s Payton Bair, a fellow Latter-day Saint, winning the title in 2025.

Hedengren finishes third in 10,000 meters

EUGENE, Ore. –  Jane Hedengren placed third in the 10,000-meter, clocking 31:57.94 at the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday.

Hedengren’s third-place finish earned her first-team All-America honors as she finished just more than three seconds behind Iowa State’s Mercyline Kirwa. Including the indoor season, this marks the third time the Provo, Utah product has earned First Team honors.

Jenna Hutchins also raced in the 10,000m, clocking 32:16.16 to place eighth and earn first-team All-America honors. The senior has earned first-team honors in the event twice in her career.

Both Carlee Hansen-Thompson and Carmen Alder advanced to the 1500m final. Hansen-Thompson clocked a personal-best 4:07.08 to place fifth, moving to No. 2 on BYU’s all-time list. It marks the first NCAA final appearance of her career. Alder’s 4:09.88 earned her the final qualifying spot. The duo will compete again Saturday at 6:12 p.m. MDT.

Taylor Lovell and Raygan Peterson both advanced through the semifinal round of the 3000m steeplechase to qualify for Saturday’s final at 5:24 p.m. MDT. Lovell qualified with a 9:39.96, the fourth-fastest overall time. In her first NCAA Championships appearance, Peterson clocked 9:45.81, the sixth-fastest time in BYU history, to earn the final qualifying spot. The junior nearly took 10 seconds off her previous personal best.

Krystie Solomon-Jensen and Tessa Buswell represented BYU in the 800m, earning second-team and honorable mention All-America honors, respectively. Solomon-Jensen recorded a personal-best 2:01.40, which ranks No. 7 in program history. Buswell’s 2:03.36 earned her second consecutive outdoor honorable mention honor in the event.

Paje Rasmussen earned honorable mention All-America honors in both the 100m and 200m, clocking 11.27 and 23.13, respectively.