The Auburn University track and field team opened its 2026 indoor season at the UAB Blazer Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama, with a total of 13 event wins and two NCAA-leading times. The competition took place at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Friday.
Senior transfer Reese Webster led the women’s squad by winning both the 60-meter and 200-meter sprints. Webster recorded a time of 23.48 seconds in the 200 meters, which is currently the fastest time in the nation for that event this season. She also won the 60-meter final with a personal-best time of 7.29 seconds.
On the men’s side, senior All-American Azeem Fahmi posted an NCAA-leading mark in the men’s 60 meters with a winning time of 6.60 seconds. This result was just four hundredths of a second off his personal best. Fahmi previously helped Auburn secure back-to-back national titles as part of its men’s 4x100m relay teams in 2024 and 2025.
Other notable performances included senior All-American Megan Hague, who won the women’s shot put with a throw of 17.10 meters—ranking as the fourth-best mark in school history—and sophomore Camryn Massey earning second place in both shot put and weight throw events.
Auburn’s women’s pole vault athletes secured the top four places, led by senior Alyssa Quinones-Mixon who cleared 4.33 meters for her fourth collegiate indoor win. Elizabeth Dowdy and Ansley Murphy tied for second and third by clearing 3.78 meters each; Murphy achieved a personal record.
In men’s field events, junior John Leonard won the weight throw with a personal-best mark of 21.63 meters, also ranking fourth all-time at Auburn University.
On the track, Cassidra Thompson claimed victory in the women’s 400 meters (54.78), while teammate Zuriel Reed finished second (54.96). Both runners joined Brieanna Boyce and Shakynah Tresvant to win the women’s 4x400m relay (3:42.23).
Senior transfer Devin Nugent took first place in the men’s 400 meters (47.90), followed closely by LeBron Bessick (48.00). Nugent later teamed up with Bessick, Rex Green, and freshman Alejandro Cardenas to win Auburn’s men’s team another title in the men’s 4x400m relay (3:14).
In distance races, freshman Arianna Roy secured victory in the women’s mile with a personal best (5:05), while juniors Audrey Dunn, Mary Mac Collins, and Olivia Stedl swept new personal bests in their podium finishes for the women’s 3000m; Collins improved her previous best by over twenty seconds to finish first (9:37).
Evan Hill from Scottsboro earned his first collegiate indoor win by claiming gold in the men’s mile (4:13).
Overall, Auburn athletes achieved eleven additional personal or collegiate best marks during Friday’s meet.
Auburn will return to Birmingham CrossPlex on January 17 for its next meet at Samford Open; competition begins at 11 a.m.
