High Flying Adeshina Among 20 Students-Athletes Seeking to Defend NCAA Indoor Titles
The 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will see twenty student-athletes return to defend their crowns, and among them is Nigeria’s high jump sensation, Temitope Simbiat Adeshina.
The Texas Tech University star, who last March shared the gold medal with Cyprus’ Elena Kulichenko after both cleared 1.94m, will be the only Nigerian athlete attempting to retain her title when the championships take place at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on March 13–14.
The duo of Kanyinsola Ajayi and Ezekiel Nathaniel had to settle for silver in the 60m and 400m respectively at the 2025 finals.
Kulichenko will not be back, but Adeshina has already shown she is more than capable of standing alone at the top.
On Friday she soared to 1.97m at the Razorback Invitational, setting a new Texas Tech school record and equaling her Nigerian national record.
It was a performance that underlined her dominance: she entered the competition at 1.75m and cleared every height without a miss until 1.94m.
After two attempts, she broke her own school record of 1.96m, before bowing out at 2.00m. That clearance not only matched the meet record but also reinforced her personal best and extended her national lead by four centimeters.
