Asheville, N.C. – The Friends University Falcons wrapped up the 2026 outdoor season with multiple All-American performances over three days this past week in Asheville, N.C. The highlights included double All-America production by Tiyna Ridge and Carter Giittinger, along with additional All-America outings from Abby Green and Fien Molenberg.
Below is combined recap of each day of the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship!
Day One
Green produced her second career NAIA All-America performance in the Women's Hammer Throw to highlight the Falcons' opening day of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
Green came through when she needed it most, recording a 52.90m mark on her second-to-last attempt to clinch her second consecutive All-America honor in the event.
Giittinger also got off to a strong start in the Men's Decathlon with a runner-up finish and PR in the 100m meter run (11.05) to enter the second day of competition in second place overall.
A pair of school records later fell in the 4 X 100 relays, with the women's team of Naomi Vagher, Lydia Robinson, Liliana Robinson & Ridge setting a new mark and finishing 12th in the preliminary run with a time of 46.33.
Daniel Castello, Matthew Bryant, Ian Russell and Pius Vokes then propelled the men's 4 X 100 relay squad to a 22nd place finish in the preliminaries with a new school-best mark of 40.96, beating the record by .01 seconds set earlier this season at the ESU Relays.
Additional Falcon Day One Highlights:
* Ridge coasted into the finals of the Women's 200m event with a third-place run of 23.77 in the preliminaries
* Aaliyah Ramirez (3.68m) tied for 13th in the Women's Pole Vault
* Julian Winters (52.33m) finished 15th in the Men's Hammer Throw
Day Two
Giittinger, the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Champion in the Heptathlon, clinched an All-America finish Thursday (May 21) with a school record 7,030 points to finish third overall. The Russellville, Ark. native was strong across the board, producing runner-up finishes in the 100 meters (11.05), 110m Hurdles (15.04) and the Pole Vault (4.75m) along with a top three result in the Shot Put (12.71m).
Additional Falcon Day Two Highlights:
* Ridge clinched a spot in the 100m finals with a run of 11.63
* Molenberg soared into the finals of the 800m event with a personal best time of 2:09.74
* Liliana Robinson, Lydia Robinson, Vagher & Molenberg came in 16th in the Women's 4 X 400 Relay with a time of 3:51.37, the best time in the event for the Falcons since the record setting time of 3:47.08 in 2018
* The Falcon Men's 4 X 400 relay team of Castello, Marcus London, Russell & Spencer Hines then posted a season best time of 3:14.36 to finish 17th
* Shawn Burdick (16.29m) finished 11th in the Men's Shot Put
* Aneesa Sheppard (11.59m) came in 13th in the Women's Triple Jump
* Payton Willits (6.56m) posted a 17th place finish in the Men's Long Jump
* Gabriela Millan (14.19) finished 19th in the Women's 100m Hurdles
Day Three
Ridge produced a pair of national runner-up finishes, starting in the 100m run, where she came in second at a time of 11.46. The Edmond, Okla. native wasn't through and again came in second nationally in the 200m race, running a time of 23.86.
Already a Decathlon All-American, Giittinger (4.65m) added another to his trophy case by finishing tied for sixth in the Men's Pole Vault event.
Molenberg (2:12.76) then capped off Friday's All-American trio with a seventh-place finish in the Women's 800 meter run.
In other action on the final day for the Falcons, Matthew Bryant (14.56m) came in 14th in the Men's Triple Jump.
In the overall team scores, the Falcon Women finished tied for 16th nationally (19 points) and the Falcon Men finished 36th (7.2 points). It's the highest national outdoor finish for the Women's Falcons since 2018 and the best for the men since 2023.
Head Coach Henry Brun on the Falcons' NAIA Outdoor National Championship Performances:
"What a finish to an incredible season, filled with more accomplishments and accolades than I can even name! I feel blessed to have the staff and student-athletes that I do in this program. We have established a culture of family that has become so tight. We have established a standard of work ethic and consistency which has provided us opportunities to contend competitively at the highest levels of the KCAC and NAIA. Most importantly, we are making ourselves known for truly developing people to be the best versions of themselves in life.
We were prepared for the moments that presented themselves at the NAIA meet, even with the adversities of numerous weather delays and changes to schedule. We knew what we showed up to Asheville to do, and we executed. I am really proud of our Nationals group for how they represented Friends T&F. There is a legacy within this program, and each time we go into national competition we take on the responsibility to build onto the foundation of the coaches/athletes before us. Coming back to Wichita after this past week, we know we helped the program take a huge step forward."
Summary of Standout Performances at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships:
Men's 4x100m (Castello, Bryant, Russell, Vokes) - 40.96 - School Record
Men's 4x400m (Castello, London, Russell, Hines) - 3:14.36 - #2 on Friends All-Time List
Pole Vault (Giittinger) - 6th Place - All-American (First program AA in Pole Vault since 2001)
Decathlon (Giittinger) 3rd Place - All-American - School Record - First Athlete in KCAC history to break 7,000pts
100m (Ridge) - National Runner-Up
200m (Ridge) - National Runner-Up
800m (Molenberg) - 2:09.74 (Prelims) - School Record - KCAC All-Time Record - All-American (7th Place)
4x100m (Vagher, Robinson, Robinson, Ridge) - 46.33 - School Record
4x400m (Robinson, Robinson, Vagher, Molenberg) - 3:51.37 - #2 on Friends All-Time List
Hammer Throw (Green) - 8th Place - All-American
Complete NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship Results
