Ugwu, Crawford Head to Eugene as Pitt Sends Two to NCAA Outdoor Championships

PITTSBURGH — For the first time in program history, Pitt will have two shot put qualifiers competing at the same NCAA Outdoor Championships, as Emeka Ugwu and Niya Crawford are set to compete at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., beginning Wednesday.

The Panthers made history on back-to-back days at the NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Ky., as Ugwu and Crawford each broke a 21-year-old school record to earn their spots in Eugene. Ugwu launched the shot to 18.80m (61-8.25) to eclipse Justin Clickett's 2005 program standard of 18.71m, becoming the first male thrower in Pitt history to qualify for nationals in the shot put. Crawford answered the following day, throwing 16.83m (55-2.75) to break Amanda Walker's 2005 mark of 16.80m (55-1.5) and join Walker as the only women in program history to reach the NCAA Championships in the event. That both records had stood for 21 years — set the same year, by throwers competing at the national level — and fell on consecutive days at the same regional meet is a coincidence that will be hard to top in Pitt track and field lore.

Ugwu, a sophomore, will open competition Wednesday when the men's shot put gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET. Seeded 19th among 24 competitors, he will throw fifth in Flight 1. The shot put is an event where seedings routinely get reshuffled — a single big throw can vault an athlete deep into contention — and Ugwu arrives in Eugene having already demonstrated an ability to rise to the moment. The top nine athletes after three throws will advance to the finals for three additional attempts. Finishers 1-8 earn first-team All-America honors, places 9-16 earn second-team honors, and places 17-24 earn honorable mention honors.

Crawford, a senior, follows Thursday, June 11, with the women's shot put also scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. ET start. Also seeded 19th among 24 competitors, she will throw sixth in Flight 1, competing under the same format and All-America structure as Ugwu. Like her teammate, Crawford has shown a knack for her best throws coming when it matters most — she broke the school record on her second attempt of the day in Lexington after nearly doing so on her first.

The 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene.