The NCAA Track & Field Championships is set to make a return to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, where 22 Nigerian athletes will be competing for collegiate honours for their respective schools from June 11th to 14th.
Some of these athletes made their mark in 2024, and others in 2025, and are strong contenders for individual titles. Temitope Adeshina spearheads the Nigerian contingent at the Championships, having won the women’s High Jump crown at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She made history, becoming the first Nigerian to win an NCAA D1 title in the event and has since then gone on to qualify for the World Championships, equalling her own National Record of 1.97m.
She won’t win without a fight as she would be going up against Rose Yeboah and Elena Kulichenko who both tied for the NCAA title in 2024, the same contest where Adeshina finished 3rd on countback.
Tima Godbless will be hoping to do better than she did in her first year, when she was the only freshman in the country to qualify for the 100/200m at the championships. She has been in great form this year and was posied to win NCAA 60m Indoor title until she was disqualified for a false start.
Outdoors, she is the fastest woman in the NCAA with her massive 10.91s Personal Best (PB) in the 100m preliminaries in Florida. For her, the talent is undeniable, but she’ll need to overcome the pressure of competing against athletes such as JaMeesia Ford, Indya Mayberry, Kaila Jackson and the USC quartet, including the indoor champion Dajaz Defrand.
Her LSU teammate Ella Onojuvwevwo is a force and has been gradually building momentum in the women’s 400m as the season has progressed. She is considered one of the athletes in the conversation for a medal in the event, behind fellow Olympian Aaliyah Butler who leads the field with 49.44s, Georgia and Jamaica’s Dejanea Oakley, and the Arkansas squad led by Kaylyn Brown.
Prestina Ochonogor is an Olympic finalist in the Long Jump, so it was no surprise that she qualified for the NCAA Championships. She will need to improve on her 6.67m Season’s Best (SB) to beat Alexis Brown who has jumped 7.03m this year.
Adaobi Tabugbo made it to her first NCAA Championships in her final year at UCF and has been on a PB spree this year, with her best of 12.87s coming just from the preliminaries in Florida.
Other female athletes running individual events include Precious Nzeakor in the women’s 200m, and Favour Onyah who has made giant strides in the 400m with her PB of 51.93s.
On the men’s side, Ezekiel Nathaniel is the fastest man in the NCAA this year in the 400m hurdles, having run two National Records (NR) in both rounds of the Big 12 Championships, ultimately bringing his own record to 47.89s! He is the third fastest man in the world this year and, barring any misfortune, should bring home his first national title for Baylor.
Nathaniel came so close to winning the 400m indoor title, finishing the season as the second fastest man in the world and has run an incredible 43.70s split outdoors to help Baylor qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 4x400m!
Samuel Ogazi started the year with an injury in his first-ever 300m indoor race for Alabama, but has gradually found his way back, skipping the indoor season entirely and then winning the SEC title outdoors. He signalled a full return to form when he ran 44.43s to easily qualify for the NCAA Championships at the East Prelims in Florida, not far off his PB of 44.41s set when he made the Olympic final.
While Ogazi isn’t the fastest in the NCAA this year, he is a close second and a heavy favourite, facing off against dual-sport athlete Micahi Danzy who plays football and has run 44.38s, as well as a very experienced Auhmad Robinson.
Joining him on the 400m train is Edidiong Udo whose switch from the 800m to 400m has completely transformed his career. The Ohio State athlete experienced a season of ups and downs, including the loss of both his parents, but still made it through his freshman year with a PB of 45.19s.
The Auburn duo of Kanyinsola Ajayi and Israel Okon will be a force to be reckoned with in the 100m. Ajayi who returns to Oregon as the 100m Bronze medallist from 2024 and a Silver medallist at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, has run PBs of 9.96s and 9.95s this season.
Okon who won Bronze at the NCAA Indoor Championships, has been battling with injury for a few weeks now, but still managed to qualify for the championships in his first year.
Charles Godfred has had one of the longest unbeaten streaks in the NCAA this year, remaining undefeated in eleven competitions! The reigning Nigerian Champion in the event has an SB of 8.10m, the second best mark in college this season and a windy 8.13m.
Another Nigerian athlete to keep an eye on is Vincent Ugwoke. Even though he competes in the Discus throw, an event where the World Record holder, Mykolas Alekna is in college, Ugwoke has thrown a PB of 63.75m in 2025 and is currently ranked 5th in the NCAA.
Full list of Nigerian athletes at the NCAA Championships
WOMEN
Tima Godbless – 100m, 200m, 4x100m
Precious Nzeakor – 200m
Ella Onojuvwevwo – 400m, 4x400m
Favour Onyah – 400m
Adaobi Tabugbo – 100mH, 4x100m
Temitope Adeshina – High Jump
Prestina Ochonogor – Long Jump
Faith Okwose – 4x100m
Elo Blessing Okpah – 4x100m
Chioma Nwachukwu – 4x400m
Mercy Umoibang – 4x400m
Esther Joseph – 4x400m
Opeyemi Oke – 4x400m
MEN
Kayinsola Ajayi – 100m, 4x100m
Sunday Israel Okon – 100m
Samuel Ogazi – 400m, 4x400m
Edidiong Udo – 400m, 4x400m
Ezekiel Nathaniel – 400mH, 4x400m
Charles Godfred – Long Jump
Vincent Ugwoke – Discus Throw
John Clifford – 4x100m
James Onwuka – 4x400m
