Baylor Trio Earn All-America Honors, Top-4 Finishes

[Hill, Jerry]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS March 14, 2026

Baylor Trio Earn All-America Honors, Top-4 Finishes
Prince and Kelley bringing bronze medals home, Haywood 4th in PV
For more information contact: Jerry Hill; 254-709-4994, jerry_hill at baylor.edu<mailto:jerry_hill at baylor.edu>

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS<https://flashresults.ncaa.com/Indoor/2026/index.htm>

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Making the most of its three entrants, Baylor track and field won a pair of bronze medals, earned three All-America honors and recorded a top-25 finish on the women’s side at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

First-time indoor national finalists, Tiriah Kelley and Demario Prince won matching bronze medals in the 200 meters and 60-meter hurdles, respectively, while Molly Haywood earned her third All-America honor and first indoors with a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.

“I think you just keep plugging away, getting more kids to beliee that they can do it here, too,” said Ford, who recorded his seventh top-25 finish as a head coach, with the women tying for 22nd with 11 points.

“Somebody asked me, ‘How’d you guys do?’ And I said, ‘Well, we had three bullets in the gun, we fired all three of them, and they hit the target.’ That’s what I was looking for, so I couldn’t ask for anything else, besides, of course, three national titles.”

After missing the Big 12 Indoor Championships with the flu, Kelley came back in a big way, beating the last two indoor national champions and finishing third in a time of 22.64 seconds. In a loaded second heat, Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge ran a blistering 22.22 to break her own facility record she set a day earlier and win going away.

Florida’s Gabrielle Matthews edged Kelley in the first heat and was second overall in 22.55, followed by 2024 champion JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina in fourth at 22.74, Texas A&M’s Camryn Dickson fifth (22.76) and 2025 indoor champion Indya Mayberry of TCU sixth (22.81).

“I think (Kelley and Prince) ran well, and I thought they could have done even better. But I don’t know if it would have changed their placing,” Ford said. “Tiriah, I didn’t think she pushed out as well as she did yesterday on the first 50, and she had a little bobble coming down the bank. But then after that, she did what she normally does.”

Kelley is Baylor’s first indoor first-team All-American (top eight) in the 200 meters since Tiffany Townsend in 2011. The Bears’ last All-American in the men’s 60-meter hurdles was Jerome iller, who was the runner-up at nationals in 2005.

Baylor’s last competitor in the two-day meet at Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center, Prince was part of the fastest-ever collegiate 60-meter hurdles race. Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp broke the seven-year-old collegiate and meet records with a world-leading time of 7.32 seconds, with all eight going under 7.6 seconds.

The NCAA leader coming into the meet, Samford’s Bradley Franklin was second in 7.43, followed by Prince in third at 7.48. Rounding out the placing in the finals, Texas’ Kendrick Smallwood was fourth (7.50), Texas A&M’s JaQualon Scott (7.51), Arkansas’ Vashaun Vascianna (7.55), Big 12 champion Malachi Snow of Texas Tech (7.56) and the Razorbacks’ Abdoul Sysavane (7.58).

“I thought (Prince) got out better today than he did yesterday,” Ford said. “But he hit, I think, hurdle two, and it threw him off a little bit. In this meet, you don’t really have to do anything different in the final. If you just do what you’ve been doing all year, you’ll do well. And that’s what all three of them did.”

Haywood, in her sixth NCAA Championship and third indoor, overcame a couple early misses and cleared the bar at 14-11 ½ on her first attempt to finish fourth in a stout pole vault competition. Washington junior Hana Moll set the meet record with a winning vault of 15-9 ¾, followed by South Dakota’s duo of Marleen Mulla (15-1 ½) and Anna Willis (14-11 ½).

With the indoor season coming to a close, Baylor will open up outdoors at next weekend’s TCU Alumni Invitational in Fort Worth before hosting the Clyde Hart Classic on March 27-28 at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.

For the latest news on Baylor track and field all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.


Jerry Hill | Director of Sports Journalism (T&F/XC/MG/WG)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-709-4994

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