The Winthrop track and field teams will compete in the 2026 Big South Outdoor Championships at High Point University, with events scheduled to begin on May 11. The competition will open with the women’s heptathlon 100-meter dash at Dick Vert Stadium.
The championship meet is significant for the Eagles as it marks a return to High Point University, where athletes from Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Longwood, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, and Winthrop will participate. Preliminary rounds for running events are set for Monday and Tuesday except for the men’s and women’s 10,000-meter finals. Field event finals will be held on their respective days while running event finals are planned for Wednesday.
This season features Raffael Craig as head coach in his first year leading the Eagles. The men’s team returns 25 athletes and adds ten newcomers; the women’s squad brings back 16 competitors while welcoming thirteen new athletes.
Recent performances include a fourth-place finish by the men’s 4×100-meter relay team with a time of 41.02 seconds at Duke Twilight. Tristen Patterson achieved a personal best of 47.49 seconds in the 400 meters to become second fastest in school history in that event. Jade Reese set a personal best of 12.08 seconds in the women’s 100-meter dash while Amaiya Whitlock ran her season best of 12.45 seconds in that race. Jurnii Lucas posted the second fastest time ever by a Winthrop athlete in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 52.29 seconds.
In field events, Faith Wood finished fourth in women’s triple jump (11.51 meters), Brianna Breau placed sixth in women’s javelin throw (39.83 meters), and Maurion Jamison secured a top-ten result in men’s triple jump (14.47 meters).
Craig leads Winthrop into this conference championship aiming to build on these recent achievements.
