NEW ORLEANS, La. - After another historic season on the national stage, Indiana University Kokomo junior thrower
Sydney Duncan has been named the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Women's Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the second consecutive season.
Duncan earns the national honor after delivering one of the most dominant performances in NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship history, scoring all 30 team points for the Cougars while sweeping the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw national championships at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Anderson, Indiana native became the first athlete since 2006 to win all three throwing events at a single NAIA Outdoor National Championship meet. Duncan opened the week with a national title in hammer throw before adding championships in shot put and discus to close out the historic weekend.
In addition to her national championship performances, Duncan dominated throughout the entire outdoor season. She swept the shot put, discus, and hammer throw titles at the River States Conference Outdoor Championships while setting meet records in all three events.
Duncan finished the season atop the NAIA performance list in shot put with a season-best mark of 16.76 meters (55-0), just shy of her personal best throw of 16.79 meters (55-1), which ranks third in NAIA history.
She also posted season-best marks of 48.97 meters (160-8) in discus and 56.78 meters (186-3) in hammer throw during the 2026 outdoor campaign.
The national award adds to an already decorated career for Duncan, who has now earned six career individual national championships and 10 All-American honors between indoor and outdoor competition.
Behind Duncan's historic performance at the national meet, the Cougars recorded a fourth-place finish at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships, the highest finish in both program history and conference history.
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