Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
NCAA Indoor Championships
Buffs Earn All-American Honors in DMR at NCAA Indoor Championships
March 13, 2026 | Track and Field
Results: cubuffs.com/tracklive
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Buffaloes wrapped up the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, highlighted by an All-American performance from the men's distance medley relay.
The Buffaloes' distance medley relay of TJ Hansen, Danny Tragarz, Drew Costelow and Justine Kipkoech placed eighth overall to earn First Team All-American honors. Entering the meet ranked No. 12 nationally, the quartet stayed in strong contention throughout the race before Kipkoech anchored the Buffs to the top-eight finish.
Isaiah Givens also competed for Colorado in the men's mile, finishing 11th overall in a season-best time of 3:57.76. Givens narrowly missed advancing to the final by one spot, as the final qualifying mark came in at 3:57.48.
In the women's 800 meters, Avery Pearson also just missed the final. Pearson ran one of her strongest races of the season, finishing sixth overall in 2:02.92. Despite the performance, the qualifying format awarded the automatic spots from the other heat, leaving Pearson just outside the eight-runner final.
Friday's competition concludes the indoor season for the Buffaloes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first event of the day for Colorado came in the men's mile preliminaries, where Isaiah Givens took the track looking to return to the NCAA final after placing fifth at last year's championship. Racing in the second heat, Givens stayed competitive throughout and crossed the line in a season-best raw time of 3:57.76. When the two heats were combined, Givens finished 11th overall, narrowly missing advancement to the final as it took a time of 3:57.48 to claim the final qualifying spot.
Avery Pearson was next to compete for the Buffs in the women's 800-meter preliminary. Pearson battled through a physical race and finished with a time of 2:02.92, one of her strongest efforts of the season. She placed sixth overall across the two heats, but due to the qualifying format awarding automatic positions to the top three in each heat plus two time qualifiers, Pearson narrowly missed the eight-runner final as the automatic qualifiers came from the other heat.
Colorado closed the evening with the men's distance medley relay final. TJ Hansen led off the 1200-meter leg and positioned the Buffs well early in the race before handing the baton to Danny Tragarz for the 400 meters. Tragarz maintained contact with the lead pack, setting up Drew Costelow on the 800-meter leg to keep Colorado firmly in contention entering the final exchange.
Justine Kipkoech took the baton for the 1600-meter anchor leg and delivered a strong close, holding position among the national field to secure an eighth-place finish for the Buffaloes. The performance earned First Team All-American honors for the quartet and capped the indoor season for Colorado.
For more information on the Colorado track and field team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsTrack.
Players Mentioned
