NCAA Track & Field Championships: U20 athletes to watch

The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships descend upon Eugene's Hayward Field at the University of Oregon this week, bringing the top collegiate athletes to vie for individual and team titles.

Among the collegians are a slew of current U20 athletes, defined as any athlete of 18 or 19 years of age on 31 December in the year of the competition. World Athletics hosts its U20 Championships every other year, with the next iteration coming to Hayward Field in the summer of 2026 from 4-9 August.

Below are notable U20 athletes to keep an eye on as the NCAA Track & Field Championships unfolds. For a full overview of the event, including broadcast information, visit the NCAA website.

 

Xavier Butler (USA) is a sophomore (second-year student) at the University of Texas and has run the fastest U20 time over 200m so far this year. Butler’s time of 20.02 was run during the NCAA qualifying rounds and is his personal best in the event. Butler enters the NCAA Championships with the eighth-fastest qualifying mark. In addition to the 200m, Butler is entered as part of the Longhorns’ 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

 

Micahi Danzy (USA) is a freshman (first-year student) at Florida State University, where he also plays football, and has run the fastest U20 time over 400m so far this year: 44.38, run during the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Danzy ran 45.26 in the qualifying rounds, the fifth-fastest qualifying time in the NCAA Championships field. In addition to the 400m, Danzy is entered as part of the Seminoles’ 4x100m relay team.

 

Samuel Ogazi (NGR) is a sophomore at the University of Alabama and has run the second-fastest U20 time over 400m so far this year: 44.43, run as the fastest qualifying time for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ogazi represented Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at just 18 years old, where he finished seventh in 44.73 seconds after setting a PB of 44.41 in the semi finals. Prior to the Olympics, he finished third at the 2024 African Championships. In addition to the 400m, Ogazi is entered in the NCAA Championships as part of Alabama’s 4x400m relay team.

 

Chioma Nwachukwu (NGR) is a freshman at the University of Iowa and has run the fastest U20 time over 400m so far this year: 51.26. Earlier in the year, she clocked an African U18 indoor best of 52.07. She is entered in the Hawkeyes’ 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

 

Braelyn Baker (USA) is a freshman at Duke University and has run the second-fastest U20 time over 400m so far this year: 51.69. Baker qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400m hurdles, in which she’s run the third-fastest U20 mark in the world this year with 56.48 in the qualifying round. She is also entered in the Blue Devils’ 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

 

Prestina Ochonogor (NGR) is a freshman at Tarleton State University and has jumped the second-farthest U20 mark in the long jump so far this year: 6.67m. Her personal best of 6.79m, set last year, is an African U20 record. Last year she won the senior Nigerian Championships, earned bronze at the African Games, finished 12th in the Olympic final and fifth at the World U20 Championships. Ochonogor jumped 6.66m to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the second-best mark in qualifying rounds.

 

Ricardo David Montes (VEN) is a freshman at High Point University and has produced the best U20 mark in the pole vault so far this year: 5.60m in February – which is also a senior Venezuelan record. Montes also earned his first South American title this year, vaulting 5.40m in Argentina. Montes jumped 5.43m during the rounds to earn the top qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships.

 

Anna Willis (USA) is a freshman at the University of South Dakota and has jumped the highest U20 mark in the pole vault so far this year: 4.52m in May – a personal best. Willis jumped 4.42m to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the top qualifying mark in the event.

The decathlon kicks off four days of action at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships on Wednesday 11 June at 12:00pm Pacific time. Events conclude with the women’s 4x400m relay on Saturday 14 June at 8:21pm Pacific time.