Rankings crafted via Miguel Zacarias & Eleni Lovgren The 2026 NAIA outdoor track season is nearing the end. In fact, we're just one week out from the NAIA Outdoor Championships! The third edition of our top-25 distance rankings for the NAIA scene, which includes "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mention" names, is now on the site! These are the names who The Stride Report is highest on before the season finale takes place in Asheville, North Carolina seven days from now. Go check out our rankings by clicking on the below graphic! Have any interest in contributing to our NAIA team? Be sure to check out our OPEN ROLES page and apply!

Production via Wyatt Barnsley On this week’s episode of The Stride Report Podcast, Ben and Garrett break down a quieter weekend of NCAA action as Simeon Birnbaum showcases his elite range with a massive 1:44.67 800-meter PR, while multiple contenders continue to crowd the national title conversation. The guys dive into huge 800-meter breakthroughs from Hafez Mahadi, Riley Witt and Jamie Phillips before shifting to Marco Langon’s blazing 3:32.79 (1500) PR, debating what events he should pursue at the NCAA Championships. They also highlight a loaded slate of 1500-meter performances from Cal Poly, Oregon, Damian Garcia and Brian Masai, as the NCAA all-time lists continue to get reshuffled. The episode wraps with metric mile efforts from Silan Ayyildiz and Wilma Nielsen as championship season rapidly approaches. Be sure to listen, subscribe and review! (2:40) Simeon Birnbaum Rattles Off 1:44.67 (800) PR While Lutes & Harding Run 1:45 PRs (14:40) Hafez Mahadi & Riley Witt Clock Huge 1:45 (800) PRs (21:27) Jamie Phillips Runs 1:45.61 (800) For Second Sub-1:46 Performance of Season (25:00) Marco Langon Runs 3:32.79 (1500), Now Sits at NCAA #2 All-Time (29:17) Cal Poly Duo of Caudillo & Smith Run 3:35 and 3:36 (1500) (32:15) Damian Garcia Stuns With 3:35 (1500) PR, Now NCAA #2 All-Time (D2) (36:04) Brian Masai Stuns With 3:33.17 PR (1500), Tied For NCAA #4 All-Time (39:17) Oregon Men Show-Out With Huge 1500m Performances (43:55) Ayyildiz Runs 4:06.97 (1500) While Nielsen Runs 4:11 In Season Debut You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating and a review! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.

Rankings crafted via Ellie Clark Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! We've got another round of our NCAA D1 outdoor track sprint and hurdle rankings now on tap for you. Just like the winter months, we've crafted lists of our top-25 sprints and hurdles stars from around the NCAA (Division One). We also added a few "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mention" names as well. Go check out our new series of rankings by clicking the below graphic! Have any interest in contributing to our sprints and hurdles team? Be sure to check out our OPEN ROLES page and apply!

Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin University of Washington’s Julia David-Smith has inked a "Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) deal with Nike. Her contract was announced last week on her Instagram page. The Husky distance standout joins South Carolina’s Salma Elbadra as Nike's most recent NIL signings among the NCAA distance running scene. The Swoosh-based brand has also recently signed women such as Mia Barnett (formerly of Oregon) and Sydney Vaught (formerly of Arkansas) to pro contracts as well. In regards to her signing, Julia David-Smith stated... “Excited to announce that I’ve joined the Nike family!! Extremely grateful for this NIL partnership.” The Washington athlete secured an All-American accolade on the indoor oval back in 2025, earning an 8th place finish in the DMR at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She led-off Washington’s DMR lineup with a 1200-meter split of 3:23.22. David-Smith has made four national meet appearances throughout her collegiate career so far. Two of those instances came on the track, where she placed 10th at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in the DMR and was 19th over 5000 meters at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships. At the NCAA XC Championships, David-Smith placed 58th and 73rd at the 2023 and 2024 edition of the meet. That 58th place finish at the 2023 cross country national meet gave the Husky women an 8th place result in the team standings that year. David-Smith has been a seven-time top-10 finisher across the BIG 10 and PAC-12 Championships. Since the University of Washington has joined the BIG 10, David-Smith has placed 4th over 3000 meters (2026), 4th over the 5000 meters on the outdoor oval (2025) and 5th over 3000 meters (2025). This past summer, Julia David-Smith was the 2025 FISU World University Games 5000-meter champion. There, she won gold in a new personal best of 15:34.57 whilst representing France. She also led France’s U23 women’s cross country team to victory at the 2025 SPAR U23 European XC Championships by placing 5th, individually. Nationally, David-Smith has secured silver and bronze medals over 1500 meters over the 2024 and 2023 U23 French Championships. Over the past year, David-Smith has set four personal bests between the 1500 meters (4:10), the mile (4:34), the 3000 meters (8:54) and the 5000 meters (15:34).