Photo by: Edward Finan | Louisville Athletics
Four Cards Qualify for NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
March 04, 2026 | Track & Field
KJ Byrd, Ashley Callahan, Elsingi Kipruto, and Iliana Triantafyllou will represent Louisville at the national championship meet on Mar. 13-14.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Four University of Louisville track & field student-athletes have qualified for the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, as announced by the NCAA on Tuesday.
KJ Byrd, Ashley Callahan, Elsingi Kipruto, and Iliana Triantafyllou will represent the Cardinals at the national championship meet after earning qualifying marks throughout the season that ranked in the top 16 nationally in their respective events.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be hosted at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15.
Byrd will return to the national championship meet in the men's heptathlon for the second consecutive season after finishing seventh in the event as a freshman last year to earn First Team All-American distinction.
The sophomore from Connelly Springs, N.C. will enter the competition ranked second nationally with a program-record score of 6,161 points that he set at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on Jan. 30-31, where he also set an NCAA record for the best pole vault mark in a heptathlon with a mark of 5.47m (17-11.25).
In addition to his record-breaking performances in the heptathlon, Byrd won the ACC title in the men's pole vault at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26, clearing a program-record bar of 5.55m (18-2.5) to win the second conference title in his career after winning gold in the heptathlon in 2025.
Kipruto, the 2025 ACC Cross Country Freshman of the Year and an All-American on the cross country course, earned the first NCAA Indoor Championships qualification of his career, punching his ticket to the national championship meet in the men's 5000m.
The freshman from Mosoriot, Kenya posted the sixth-fastest time in the nation this season at the Husky Classic on Feb. 14, clocking a time of 13:15.74 that set a Louisville program record. Kipruto also set a program record in the men's 3000m this season, claiming the bronze at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 with a time of 7:46.76.
Callahan & Triantafyllou also earned the first NCAA Indoor Championships berths of their careers, as the pair both earned qualifications in the women's pole vault with a matching program-record mark of 4.50m (14-9) that they both set at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Feb. 14 which ranks them in a tie for seventh nationally this season.
Callahan, a redshirt senior from San Diego, Calif., captured the first ACC title of her career in the event at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 with a clearance of 4.50m (14-9) that equaled the program record, while Triantafyllou, a redshirt sophomore from Serres, Greece, finished fourth at the conference championship meet with a mark of 4.45m (14-7.25).
For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track & Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram and X account at @louisvilletfxc or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.
KJ Byrd, Ashley Callahan, Elsingi Kipruto, and Iliana Triantafyllou will represent the Cardinals at the national championship meet after earning qualifying marks throughout the season that ranked in the top 16 nationally in their respective events.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be hosted at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15.
Byrd will return to the national championship meet in the men's heptathlon for the second consecutive season after finishing seventh in the event as a freshman last year to earn First Team All-American distinction.
The sophomore from Connelly Springs, N.C. will enter the competition ranked second nationally with a program-record score of 6,161 points that he set at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on Jan. 30-31, where he also set an NCAA record for the best pole vault mark in a heptathlon with a mark of 5.47m (17-11.25).
In addition to his record-breaking performances in the heptathlon, Byrd won the ACC title in the men's pole vault at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26, clearing a program-record bar of 5.55m (18-2.5) to win the second conference title in his career after winning gold in the heptathlon in 2025.
Kipruto, the 2025 ACC Cross Country Freshman of the Year and an All-American on the cross country course, earned the first NCAA Indoor Championships qualification of his career, punching his ticket to the national championship meet in the men's 5000m.
The freshman from Mosoriot, Kenya posted the sixth-fastest time in the nation this season at the Husky Classic on Feb. 14, clocking a time of 13:15.74 that set a Louisville program record. Kipruto also set a program record in the men's 3000m this season, claiming the bronze at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 with a time of 7:46.76.
Callahan & Triantafyllou also earned the first NCAA Indoor Championships berths of their careers, as the pair both earned qualifications in the women's pole vault with a matching program-record mark of 4.50m (14-9) that they both set at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Feb. 14 which ranks them in a tie for seventh nationally this season.
Callahan, a redshirt senior from San Diego, Calif., captured the first ACC title of her career in the event at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 with a clearance of 4.50m (14-9) that equaled the program record, while Triantafyllou, a redshirt sophomore from Serres, Greece, finished fourth at the conference championship meet with a mark of 4.45m (14-7.25).
For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track & Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram and X account at @louisvilletfxc or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.
Players Mentioned
Multis
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & FieldTFXC: Just Jayden
Wednesday, July 30
TFXC: The Last Jump
Monday, July 14
Joe Franklin Press Conference 02.26.25
Friday, May 16
2024 Track & Field and Cross Country Media Day
Monday, February 26
