Georgia Freshman Adaejah Hodge Runs 22.50, Edges JaMeesia Ford In SEC 200 Prelim

By Doug Binder and Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Kylie Graham Photos

The SEC and ACC Championships began their three-day indoor championships on Thursday and the Big 12 is set to begin its two-day meet on Friday. 

Here a few of Thursday's highlights:

SEC 

With Alabama's Doris Lemngole focused on other events at Texas A&M, Arkansas senior Sydney Vaught stepped up with a big performance and broke the SEC Indoor meet record in the 5,000 meters with 15:02.52 for the ninth-fastest time in NCAA history. It was also a facility record.

Vaught and Arkansas are pursuing their 12th consecutive women's team title at the indoor conference meet. 

There were fireworks in the 200 meters. Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge ran a time of 22.50 for the fastest performance in the prelims, faster even than NCAA outdoor champion JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina, who ran 22.58. 

The final could be electric. The meet record is 22.09 by Abby Steiner of Kentucky in 2022. 

Wanya McCoy of Florida led the men's qualifying in the 200 meters with 20.38 seconds. 

Arkansas freshman Nick Busienei won the men's 5,000 meters in 13:31.86. 

The South Carolina women edged out Florida in an NCAA#9 all-time 10:45.64 to 10:46.45 in the distance medley relay. The Gamecocks made it a DMR sweep in the men's race with a close finish over Ole Miss. 

Vanderbilt's Janie Ford became the first freshman to win the pentathlon with 4,373 points. 

Jathiyah Muhammad from South Carolina won the women's pole vault (4.40m/14-5.25), Kesley Daniel of Texas broke the facility record in the men's long jump, winning with 8.21m (26-11.25), and Morgan Davis led a 1-2 finish for Texas A&M with her vicory in the women's long jump (6.57m/21-6.75). 

ACC

The Wake Forest men and Duke women won nail-biting distance medley relays to close out the first day of the ACC Championships in Boston.

Wake Forest’s lineup of Wes Shipsey, Foster Shelbert, Andrew Riley and Paul Specht clocked a season’s best 9:35.29 to take down Virginia. Specht took the baton six seconds behind Virginia’s Justin Wachtel and clocked a 3:55.34 on the anchor leg, outleaning Wachtel by a tenth of a second for the win.

The Duke women beat NC State by almost the same margin, coming in at 10:52.45 while the Wolfpack crossed in 10:52.59.

Earlier in the day, Colton Sands and Imogen Gardiner won the men’s and women’s 5,000 meters, respectively — the only two individual track finals of the day.

Sands, a senior at North Carolina, broke the tape in 13:40.35, throwing down a vicious 26.40-second final lap to beat Virginia’s Gary Martin by a second.

Gardiner, meanwhile, cruised to a five-second win on home turf. The Boston College junior ran 15:43.73 to beat Notre Dame’s Mary Bonner Dalton, who ran 15:48.14.

Louisville’s Kenneth Byrd, Collin Pate and Ty McPhail finished first, second and fourth in the men’s pole vault, putting up all 23 of the Cardinals’ points for the day. Louisville sits behind Virginia in second place in the men’s team scores; the Cavaliers have 45 thanks to a strong showing in the distance events and a 21-point performance in the weight throw.

Notre Dame leads the women’s team race with 25 points, one ahead of Miami.

Big 12

In one of the most surprising developments in college sprinting, Louie Hinchcliffe will make his 2026 debut for Houston on Friday in the conference championships in Lubbock, Texas when he runs in the 60-meter prelims. 

Hinchcliffe won the 2024 NCAA outdoor title in the 100 meters, made the British national team and earned a bronze medal in Paris on the 4x100 relay, and then turned pro. 

By last fall, Hinchcliffe had come back to Houston coach Carl Lewis and asked if he could return to school and the track program. He has completed a student-athlete reinstatement process in time to compete in the conference championships.