NCAA Championships Begin Today With Five Irish Athletes In Action Throughout The Week

The NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships get underway today at the famous Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, with five Irish athletes set to compete on one of the biggest stages in collegiate athletics.

For Irish athletics fans, the NCAA Championships have become a familiar source of success. The Irish have consistently punched above their weight in Eugene, producing national champions, record breakers and future international stars.

Most recently, Sophie O'Sullivan captured the NCAA 1500m title in 2025, following in the footsteps of some illustrious Irish names. Rhasidat Adeleke dominated the women's 400m in 2024 before going on to establish herself among the world's elite quarter milers. Long before that, Sonia O'Sullivan famously completed a remarkable NCAA double for Villanova in 1990 and 1991, while Mary Cullen added her name to the honours list when she claimed the NCAA 5000m title in 2006.

This year, a new group of Irish athletes arrive in Eugene hoping to make their own mark.

Leading the charge in the field events is Elizabeth Ndudi (Illinois), who competes in the women's long jump.

The Dundrum South Dublin athlete has enjoyed another outstanding season and continues to establish herself as one of Ireland's brightest young talents. Already the Irish indoor and outdoor record holder in the event, Ndudi broke the national indoor record earlier this year with a leap of 6.63m and has consistently demonstrated her ability to perform on the biggest stages. After successfully negotiating the difficult NCAA Regional qualification process, she now gets the opportunity to compete for national honours against the best collegiate jumpers in America.

On the track, Lauren Roy (Tarleton State) arrives in Eugene after a breakthrough year that has elevated her into the conversation as one of Ireland's most exciting sprint prospects.

Roy was Ireland's fastest female sprinter during the indoor season and has continued that form outdoors. She currently holds the Irish national lead over both 100m and 200m and recently secured automatic qualifcation for the European Championships in Birmingham with a superb 22.83 performance over 200m. She has also achieved Commonwealth Games qualification standards for Northern Ireland over both sprint distances. Eugene represents another major opportunity for the Ulster athlete to continue building momentum ahead of what promises to be a busy international summer.

Middle distance hopes rest with Maeve O'Neill (Providence), who has arguably enjoyed one of the most impressive seasons of any Irish athlete competing in the NCAA system.

O'Neill rewrote the Irish indoor 800m record during the winter and subsequently earned selection for Ireland at the World Indoor Championships, where she made her senior international debut. She enters the NCAA Championships as Ireland's current national leader over 800m and has consistently produced high quality performances throughout both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Her qualification for Eugene is another significant milestone in what has already been a memorable year.

Ireland's remaining representatives will compete as part of relay squads.

Houston's Sean Aigboboh will line out in the men's 4x100m relay after another outstanding season for the young sprinter. Earlier this year he lowered the Irish 200m record and achieved the European Championship qualifying standard with a superb 20.27 performance. Although his individual NCAA campaign ended at the regional stage, he remains an important member of his university's relay team and will be aiming to help them challenge for a strong finish in Eugene.

Completing the Irish contingent is Lucy May Sleeman, who forms part of Florida State University's women's 4x100m relay squad.

Sleeman has continued her steady progression throughout the season and has produced a number of strong sprint performances in recent months. The former Irish indoor champion has become an important contributor for Florida State and now gets the opportunity to compete on collegiate athletics' biggest stage as part of one of the nation's leading relay programmes.

With national titles, All American honours and valuable championship experience all on the line, the next few days promise to be another memorable chapter in Ireland's growing NCAA success story.

Below is a timetable (Irish time) of when the Irish athletes are in action throughout the week, along with links to follow the action.

Wednesday, June 10th 

⏰ 1:05 AM (Thu June 11th) – 🏃‍♂️ Sean Aigboboh – Men's 4x100m Relay Semi Final

Thursday, June 11th

⏰ 1:05 AM (Fri June 12th) – 🏃‍♀️ Lucy May Sleeman – Women's 4x100m Relay Semi Final
⏰ 2:40 AM (Fri June 12th) – 🏃‍♀️ Elizabeth Ndudi – Women's Long Jump Final
⏰ 2:50 AM (Fri June 12th) – 🏃‍♀️ Maeve O'Neill – Women's 800m Semi Final
⏰ 3:25 AM (Fri June 12th) – 🏃‍♀️ Lauren Roy – Women's 200m Semi Final

Friday, June 12th 

⏰ 1:02 AM (Sat June 13th) – 🏃‍♂️ Sean Aigboboh – Men's 4x100m Final*

Saturday, June 13th

⏰ 1:02 AM (Sun June 14th) – 🏃‍♀️ Lucy May Sleeman – Women's 4x100m Final*
⏰ 2:24 AM (Sun June 14th) – 🏃‍♀️ Maeve O'Neill – Women's 800m Final*
⏰ 2:37 AM (Sun June 14th) – 🏃‍♀️ Lauren Roy – Women's 200m Final*

*Subject to Qualification

📄 Starting List
📺 Watch Live (VPN & Paid ESPN+ Subscription Required)
📊 Results

As always, we wish Irish athletes competing this week every success