GAINESVILLE, Fla. - IU Kokomo women's track and field standout Sydney Duncan added to her national championship collection this weekend, claiming her third NAIA shot put title on Saturday after earning All-American honors in the weight throw on Friday.

After winning both the 2025 NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Shot Put titles, Duncan dominated this past weekend's competition to claim her second career NAIA Indoor Shot Put championship. She is still just the second Cougar student-athlete to achieve this honor, joining current throws coach Grant Gaylor, who won the NAIA Men's Outdoor Shot Put National Championship in 2021.

Following two preliminary throws that fell short of her standard, Duncan went big on her third and final attempt, a throw that would ultimately secure her National Championship. Her 17.01-meter toss proved to be the longest of the meet, beating second-place Kori Nagel of Dickinson State by 1.75 meters. No competitor surpassed Nagel's preliminary mark of 15.26 meters, meaning Duncan was never pressured in the finals, as her 17.01-meter throw from prelims was enough to cruise to the title.

In addition to her shot put triumph, Duncan excelled in the weight throw on Friday, improving on her 22nd-place finish at the 2025 NAIA Indoor Championships with a fifth-place performance at this year's event in Florida.

Just as she did in the shot put on Saturday, Duncan delivered her best throw in the preliminaries of the weight throw, launching a mark of 17.78 meters to secure a spot in the finals. No competitor surpassed her distance in the finals, allowing Duncan to hold on for fifth place and earn All-American honors.

Head coach Josh Colvin had this to say in regards to Duncan's performances at the 2026 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships: "Sydney did what she set out to do and that was to dominate the women's shot put competition at nationals. The big question is how far will she throw it. She threw it far enough to win the national championship by 1.75 meters and to finish as the 16th best collegiate thrower in the country across NCAA, NAIA, and JUCO. She was disappointed because she wanted to throw farther than last year but she had a great indoor season."

Colvin continued, stating "She also finished fifth in the weight throw to earn a second All-American honor of the event, improving from last year's event where she finished 22nd and dead last. These successes will propel her to outdoor where she will add discus and hammer throw to her repertoire where she intends to qualify for nationals in those respective events as well as shot put."

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