Track Central: USC Invite / Virginia Tech Challenge

Saturday, February 21

Blacksburg, Va.

University of Tennessee

Virginia Tech Challenge

Weekend Preview - USC Invite / Va. Tech Challenge

February 20, 2026 | Track & Field

USC - Meet Schedule USC - Live Results VT - Meet Schedule VT - Live Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee track & field will round out the 2025–26 indoor regular season on Saturday with a split squad competing at the USC Invite in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Action at South Carolina begins at 12:10 p.m. with Serges Taha competing in the preliminary round of the men's 60-meter hurdles. Tennessee will close out the USC Invite at 3:30 p.m. as T'Mars McCallum and Traunard Folson take on the men's 200-meter dash.

Live results from the USC Invite will be provided by AdkinsTrak Timing Associates, and start lists are currently available here.

Kyle Ellis' vertical jumpers will head to Virginia Tech on Saturday to compete in the high jump and pole vault. Vol junior Grant Campbell opens the meet at 11 a.m. following a personal-best clearance of 2.19 meters (7-2.25) last week. Four Vols are scheduled to compete in the men's pole vault at noon, while Kendall Ford will represent the Lady Vols in the women's pole vault at 2:30 p.m.

Live results from the Virginia Tech Challenge will be provided by Flash Results, and start lists are currently available here.

LAST TIME OUT: Tennessee delivered a statement performance at the Tyson Invitational, highlighted by NCAA-leading speed and multiple program records. Redshirt junior Traunard Folson equaled the NCAA lead in the men's 60-meter dash at 6.49, finishing runner-up in a championship field that included world-class competition. The Vols closed the meet with two school records, as freshman Nelson Mapi Setek captured the championship mile in a program-best 3:55.90 and the men's 4x400-meter relay clocked 3:02.46 to rank fourth nationally. UT also posted several national-level marks across the sprints, hurdles and field events, including a championship win and NCAA top-three ranking from Myreanna Bebe in the women's 60-meter hurdles.

RANKINGS UPDATE: Tennessee men's track & field was ranked No. 2 in the latest installment of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI), while the Lady Vols were ranked No. 15 in the country.

Additionally, the Vols and Lady Vols have totaled 20 marks that currently rank top 16 on the NCAA Division I national qualifying list this season:

Davonte Howell – Men's 60m – 6.49 (No. 1)
Traunard Folson – Men's 60m – 6.49 (No. 1)
Davonte Howell – Men's 200m – 20.58 (No. 8)
Brown, Jackson II, Hinti, Barton – Men's 4x400m Relay – 3:02.46 (No. 4)
Grant Campbell – Men's High Jump – 2.19m / 7-2.25 (No. 13)
Cade Gray – Men's Pole Vault – 5.68m / 18-7.5 (No. 8)
Ismaila Sawaneh – Men's Pole Vault – 5.66m / 18-6.75 (No. 10)
Clarke Byram – Men's Pole Vault – 5.61m / 18-4.75 (No. 15)
Blake Sifferlin – Men's Pole Vault – 5.56m / 18-2.75 (No. 16)
Evan Puckett – Men's Pole Vault – 5.56m / 18-2.75 (No. 16)
Cade Gray – Men's Long Jump – 7.97m / 26-1.75 (No. 9)
JL Van Rensburg – Men's Shot Put – 19.83m / 65-0.75 (No. 4)
Aidan Ifkovits – Men's Weight Throw – 22.63m / 74-3 (No. 9)
Faith Okwose – Women's 60m – 7.21 (No. 12)
Esther Joseph – Women's 200m – 22.94 (No. 9)
Esther Joseph – Women's 400m – 51.36 (No. 5)
Javonya Valcourt – Women's 400m – 51.73 (No. 9)
Myreanna Bebe – Women's 60m Hurdles – 7.98 (No. 3)
Valcourt, Joseph, Wright, Johnson – Women's 4x400m Relay – 3:29.31 (No. 12)
Mya Strahm – Women's Pole Vault – 4.47m / 14-8 (No. 11)

UP NEXT: Indoor postseason kicks off with the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 26-28, in College Station, Texas.