2026 SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships set to begin Friday

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place at VMI’s Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, Virginia, this Friday and Saturday. This year marks the 91st edition of the men’s championship and 39th women’s championship. VMI is hosting the meets for the ninth straight season.   

Samford swept the team titles again last year, with the Bulldog men claiming their sixth consecutive SoCon indoor title and the Samford women winning their tenth straight. The Bulldogs became the first SoCon women’s program to win 10 straight titles, extending their record for the longest streak of consecutive titles.  

Samford’s men scored 177 points to outdistance runner-up Western Carolina, which scored 167. Furman was third with 109 and host VMI was fourth with 74.5. The Bulldogs claimed Day 2 wins in the triple jump, heptathlon, 60m hurdles, high jump and 4x400. 

The Samford women totaled 163.5 final points, advancing past runner-up Wofford which scored 119.5, to extend their record for the most consecutive championships in league history.   

Spectators are welcome at the championships and day two of the meet will air live on ESPN+ beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, with Phil Cox, Joanne Bethea, and Liv Cox on the call. Live results, daily recaps, photos, and video highlights can be found at SoConSports.com.  

  Link to Tickets: SoCon Indoor Track & Field Championships

Storylines:  

- Lexington, Virginia, is the site of the men’s event for the 44^th time, more than double the total of the next-highest sites, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Johnson City, Tennessee, which have hosted 18 times each. The men’s championship was contested in Lexington for 28 consecutive years from 1954-81. The women’s championship was held in Lexington for the 11th time last season. Prior to 2018, the last time VMI hosted the championships was in 2000.  

- Sherika Christie, Bradley Franklin, Arthur Chitty, Kwan Oates, and Lexie Durban are the superlative winners back for their respective schools.  

- Additionally, Samford coach Rod Tiffin is the defending coach of the year on the men’s side.  He’s won the award eight times on the men’s side, including in each of the last six seasons, and has claimed the award seven times on the women’s side.  

-Three meet records fell last year, including the men’s 60m hurdles, men’s 800m run, and the women’s 5000m run.   

-The following athletes/teams return to the championship with the top ranked result in the league:

Bradley Franklin - Samford - Men's 60m Hurdles

Samford - Men's 4x400

Elizabeth Pardue - Samford - Women's 400m

Dorsey Parker - Samford - Women's High Jump

Sherika Christie - Wofford - Women's Triple Jump

Samford - Women's 4x400

Furman - Women's DMR