BOSTON – Jumper Kendall Ward claimed the first podium finish for the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams at the 2026 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday.
The day began with the women’s high jump event as Ward and Aseye Srigboh were set on elevating above the competition. Both Tech jumpers cleared the first two benchmarks before Srigboh finished 11th overall after failing to clear the 1.72m bar. Ward needed all three attempts as she cleared that same mark on the final leap of the round.
Ward sealed her top-three finish after nailing the 1.75m mark and ended her day on the 1.78m bar. Ward earned her second top-five finish after placing fifth last season at the 2025 Championships. 1.75m is her highest indoor mark since last year’s championship.
The track opened with the 1 mile events as the Jackets carried the early momentum. Billy Carlton crossed the line at 4:02.98, marking the fastest mile for the program in 10 years and strengthening his hold as the fifth-fastest performer in program history. He finished half a second off head coach Alan Drosky’s record time set back in 1987.
Claire Shelton was the next runner to answer the call as finished five seconds clear of the next Jacket, finishing at 4:40.50 in the 1 mile race. This becomes the second-fastest time in program history as the sophomore leaps Lottie Chappell from third to second in the record book.
The stage was set for the 60m hurdles as freshman Dalen Penson took his mark in lane four of the first heat in the prelims. He dashed out to a 7.79 time, 0.02 off his time set in his debut at the Tiger Paw Invitational and claimed one of the eight spots for Saturday afternoon’s finale.
Caden Terrell ran a 47.46 in the 400m to place 12th in his ACC individual debut. Gracie Marston clocked a 2:10.73 in the women’s 800m to finish 18th while Kennedy Myers placed 19th in the women’s 60m hurdles event. Kamren Kennedy finished at 1:51.96 in the men’s 800m while Sophia Richard ran 7.77 in the women’s 60m prelims.
Charlie Crowder and Adaora Tagbo will each compete in the triple jump as Penson races in the 60m hurdles finals event at 12:30 p.m. Taylor Wade and Sadie Honig will run in the 3000m race before the championships close with the 4x400m relay.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GT_tracknfield), Instagram (GT_tracknfield), Facebook (Georgia Tech Track and Field) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
