KJ Byrd Named USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
March 19, 2026 | Track & Field
The sophomore finished as the national runner-up in the men’s heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
NEW ORLEANS, La. – University of Louisville men's track & field sophomore KJ Byrd has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast Regional Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, as announced by the organization on Thursday.
With the honor, Byrd becomes only the third athlete in program history to win a USTFCCCA regional award during the indoor season, joining Tone Belt in 2007 and Jayden Ulrich in 2025.
The full list of the USTFCCCA regional award winners for the 2025-26 indoor season can be found here.
Byrd finished as the national runner-up in the men's heptathlon at the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Mar. 13-14, accruing a total of 6,132 points to post the highest individual finish at the indoor national championship meet for a Louisville male in any event since 2007.
In the process, the sophomore cleared a program-record bar of 5.57m (18-3.25) in the pole vault that set a new American record and broke his own collegiate record for pole vault in a heptathlon, while also ranking as the third-best heptathlon pole vault mark in world history.
The native of Connelly Springs, N.C. also captured the second conference title of his young career at the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 26, winning the men's pole vault with a final bar of 5.55m (18-2.5).
At the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on Jan. 30-31, Byrd broke his own program record in the men's heptathlon with a total of 6,161 points while also originally setting the collegiate record in the heptathlon pole vault with a clearance of 5.47m (17-11.25)
For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track & Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagramand X account at @louisvilletfxc or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.
With the honor, Byrd becomes only the third athlete in program history to win a USTFCCCA regional award during the indoor season, joining Tone Belt in 2007 and Jayden Ulrich in 2025.
The full list of the USTFCCCA regional award winners for the 2025-26 indoor season can be found here.
Byrd finished as the national runner-up in the men's heptathlon at the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Mar. 13-14, accruing a total of 6,132 points to post the highest individual finish at the indoor national championship meet for a Louisville male in any event since 2007.
In the process, the sophomore cleared a program-record bar of 5.57m (18-3.25) in the pole vault that set a new American record and broke his own collegiate record for pole vault in a heptathlon, while also ranking as the third-best heptathlon pole vault mark in world history.
The native of Connelly Springs, N.C. also captured the second conference title of his young career at the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 26, winning the men's pole vault with a final bar of 5.55m (18-2.5).
At the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on Jan. 30-31, Byrd broke his own program record in the men's heptathlon with a total of 6,161 points while also originally setting the collegiate record in the heptathlon pole vault with a clearance of 5.47m (17-11.25)
For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track & Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagramand X account at @louisvilletfxc or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.
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