University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Outdoor Big Ten Championships
Fakrogha Wins High Jump Title to Lead UCLA at Big Ten Outdoors
May 17, 2026 | Track & Field
LINCOLN, Neb. โ The UCLA track & field team wrapped up a three-day stint at the 2026 Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Sunday, with the women finishing eighth in the team standings and the men placing 16th. The meet was hosted by Nebraska at the Nebraska Outdoor Track, with hot, humid, and stormy conditions present for most of the contest. ย
A dozen separate individuals scored for the Bruins over the weekend, highlighted by a Big Ten title in the women's high jump from Valentina Fakrogha and a two-medal performance from sprinter Taylor Snaer.
The Bruin women finished the meet with 44.5 points, good for eighth out of 18th teams. UCLA had nine scoring individuals, and also had a pair of scoring relays. Fakrogha and Snaer accounted for all three of the Bruins' medals on the weekend.
Four Bruin men scored at Big Tens, highlighted by a bronze medal in the men's high jump from Hamdi Ali. ย
UCLA is next in action at the NCAA West Regionals in Fayetteville, Ark. from May 27-30.
FRIDAY RECAP
Graduate pole vaulter Paige Sommers was the first Bruin to get on the board on the weekend, as she tied for eighth place after posting a top clearance of 4.33m (14-2.5). Avery Boyse had a strong outing for the Bruins as well, reaching a PB and placing second among all frosh entrants at 4.03m (13-2.5).
Later on, Maya Rush secured a PB and leapfrogged Kendall Gustafson for the No. 8 mark in program history after throwing 47.59 in the javelin. She finished 12th overall.
Runners to secure finals spots in Friday's trials included Tamaal Myers II, Chris Paige, and Kapiolani Coleman in the 400m hurdles and Taylor Snaer in the 200m dash. Myers and Paige went 1-2 in their 400mH prelim heat, with Myers' 50.53 leading all qualifying racers. Snaer won her heat as well in the 200m dash to lock up a Sunday spot.
SATURDAY RECAP
Fakrogha got the Bruins off to a strong start on Saturday, capturing the women's high jump title after clearing a meet-record 1.89m (6-2.25) on her third and final attempt to clinch the first-place result.
In doing so, she became the first Bruin on the women's side to ever win an individual Big Ten Championship. She joins Michael Pinckney as the only two Bruins to win B1G Championships since UCLA joined the league ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. She's also the first female Bruin to win a league title in the high jump since Zibby Boyer won a Pac-12 title in 2015.
Saturday's advancers in track qualifying included Naomi Johnson and Gabriel Clement II in the 400m, Snaer in the 100m dash, and Madison Fleming and Celeste Polzonetti in the 100m hurdles.
The Bruins were especially strong in the 400m trials. Johnson (51.91) had the fastest time of anyone in qualifying, while Clement (45.28) won his heat by a wide margin and finished second overall.
In the 100m hurdles, Polzonetti (13.14) finished runner-up in her heat and Fleming (13.58) posted a season-best time to secure the ninth and final qualifying spot.
Ailish Hawkins was a standout in the late races for the Bruins, winning the opening section of the 3,000m steeplechase and ending up eighth overall with a time of 10:19.29. Evie Marheineke finished that race in 10:47.59, good for second among freshman racers. Everett Capelle (9:03.40) was the Bruins' top performer in the men's steeplechase, finishing third in his section and setting a PB.
SUNDAY RECAP
The Bruins finished up the league championship on Sunday, with a number of notable times thanks in part to windy and humid conditions in Lincoln.
Hamdi Ali started the day off with the UCLA men's best result of the weekend, as he earned bronze after tying for third in the men's high jump with a top clearance of 2.12m (6-11.5).
Cade Sommers led the Bruins in the men's pole vault, hitting a PB at 5.22m (17-1.5) en route to an 11th place finish.
In the women's triple jump, Mackenzie Kirk narrowly missed out on scoring after placing ninth with a top clearance of 12.90m (42-4, wind-aided) on her first attempt. On the men's side, Gavin Champ secured a top-10 finish of his own after reaching a wind-aided mark of 15.29m (50-2).
UCLA finished top-five in both women's relays, including a fourth-place result in the 4x100. The quartet of Kayla McBride, Johnson, Polzonetti, and Snaer finished that race in 43.91. The Bruin women later closed out the race with a fifth-place finish in the 4x400, as the group of Ava Simms, Snaer, McBride, and Johnson checked in at 3:31.99.
Xaver Hastenrath provided one last field scorer for the Bruins in the men's shot put, as he recorded a mark of 18.76m (61-6.75) to place seventh in that competition.
Polzonetti and Fleming were both able to score in the 100mH, with Polzonetti (12.83) coming in fourth and Fleming (13.25) placing seventh. Both were season-best times, but not wind legal.
Clement was the Bruins' top performer in the 400m finals, checking in at seventh with a time of 46.94. Johnson was eighth in her race at 53.11.
Snaer grabbed her first medal of the weekend in the 100m after clocking a 11.06, a time which would have tied for No. 2 in program history were it wind legal. She later added a second medal in the 200m dash, finishing in 22.07 (6.0 m/s). That time is believed to be an all-conditions record at UCLA.
In the 400m hurdles, Myers just missed out on a medal after running a 51.35 to place fourth on the men's side. Paige (52.39) did not score after placing ninth in the final. On the women's side, Coleman (58.81) placed seventh to score at a Big Ten Championship for the first time in her career.
