The NCAA Outdoor National Championships featured an array of All-American honors, program records and podium finishes for Illinois’ men’s and women’s squads. Above all, the Illini women reached historic heights by taking home fifth place in the women’s team competition.
“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve done,” said director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou to Fighting Illini Athletics. “We did something that no other Illinois women’s track and field team has done in nearly 30 years and that’s place top-5 in the country. Not to mention, we were one and a half points shy of walking out of here with a trophy.”
A complete team effort propelled the Illini women to their fifth-place finish. While the men weren’t the frontrunners in the team competition, they still performed well individually. Here are the takeaways from Illinois’ program performance at the National Championships.
Jumping to new heights
The high jump was a standout event for the Illini on both the men’s and women’s sides. Junior Kam Garrett earned his first NCAA All-American honor in his three years at Illinois. Garrett is the first Illini in 16 years to be crowned an All-American in men’s high jump.
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The junior tied his season-best in the high jump at NCCAs, recording a jump of 2.20m. With this mark, Garrett took home fourth place to cap off his successful junior campaign. Going into the offseason, all the momentum is in his direction. Garrett proved he can compete with the best of the best in 2025, but still has titles to chase for the 2026 season.
For the women’s team, senior Rose Yeboah became an outdoor All-American for a second consecutive season. Yeboah didn’t defend her national title in 2025, but she still secured a spot on the podium. With a season-best 1.93m, the senior became the 2025 national runner-up in the event.
Yeboah finished her collegiate career on a historic note. Yeboah became the first Illini high jumper to earn All-American honors in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1998. Yeboah can leave Illinois with her head held high. She not only holds multiple Big Ten and NCAA titles but also the Illinois program record in the high jump. Yeboah’s talent will be missed by the Illini next season.
Senior sendoff
Overall, the Illini are a young team. Much of their talent is returning next season to defend their All-American titles and podium finishes. However, Illinois still had a few seniors who competed in their last meet for the Orange and Blue last weekend.
Senior Abria Smith left it all on the field at the NCAA Championships in Oregon. Smith finished the meet as the national runner-up in the shot put, throwing 18.85m. This was the highest finish in women’s shot put in the history of Illinois’ program.
Although Smith was an Illini for one season, she made an indefinite mark. During the 2025 season, the senior earned a pair of All-American honors, a Big Ten title and set school records in indoor and outdoor shot put.
Another Illinois senior solidified her name in the history books at NCAAs alongside Smith. Tacoria Humphrey became Illinois’ second-ever long jump All-American with her fourth-place finish. Her 6.62m jump propelled the senior to the highest finish in the event in program history.
Although Humphrey spent all four years at Illinois, she didn’t start jumping until her sophomore year. Humphrey now leaves Champaign as a Big Ten champion and with Big Ten and program records in the indoor high jump.
More left to prove
For both the Illini men and women, there is a lot of talent returning to Champaign in 2026. The NCAA National Championships proved that Illinois has the potential to achieve even more in the years to come.
“We are only going to get better. I’m ecstatic to welcome in all our signees to join this already talented and competitive roster,” Kyprianou said to Fighting Illini Athletics. “There’s no place like Illinois and we showed that this weekend; we can compete with the best of the best in the nation. Next year we will be bringing a trophy home with us.”
On day one of the national competition, sophomore Cody Johnston took home seventh place in the pole vault, completing a 5.53m mark. This was Johnston’s second consecutive season earning All-American honors. Johnston’s future at Illinois is bright and the program can look forward to many pole vault titles in its future with him in Champaign.
Day two didn’t disappoint for the Illini. Alongside Humphrey, sophomore Sophia Beckmon placed sixth in the long jump with a 6.49m jump. Beckmon will carry the long jump event for the Illini next season with Humphrey graduating. Based on her sophomore year results, she is ready for the challenge.
To round out NCAAs, freshman Melissa Wullschleger finished in fourth place in the heptathlon and scored a program record of 5,929 points. Wullschleger became Illinois’ first All-American in this event since 1996. As she is only a freshman, Wullschleger has a lot left to accomplish in the Orange and Blue with plenty of time to do it.
