GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's indoor track and field teams open their 2026 season on Saturday by participating in the Tryon International Collegiate Opener in Mill Spring, North Carolina. It will be the first collegiate track meet held at the facility.
The Tusculum women finished fifth and the men placed ninth at last year's SAC Championship, and both squads will feature plenty of new faces this season as the Pioneer men have 17 newcomers among their 26 competitors, while the women have eight additions to their 2026 roster among their 17 athletes.
Tusculum will compete in six meets during the regular season before competing at the South Atlantic Conference Championship on February 28 and March 1 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
MEN'S PREVIEW
Junior Lansford Cunningham (Montego Bay, Jamaica) returns after missing much of the 2025 season due to injury. Cunningham was part of the gold-medal 4x400 relay at the 2024 SAC Indoor Championship and ranks second in program history in the 300 meters (34.64 seconds) and the long jump (7.06 meters). Juniors Kayvon Pickett (High Point, N.C.) and Noah Girard (Enfield, Conn.) along with sophomore John Ross (Mount Carmel, Tenn.) return in sprints for the Pioneers, joined by a host of junior college transfers and freshmen.
Sophomore Tinotenda Musariri (Harare, Zimbabwe) comes to Tusculum from Briar Cliff, where he was All-Conference in both the 100 and 200 meters. Junior Marshae McDonald (Sanford, Fla.) was All-America in both the indoor and outdoor 4x400 relay at Indian Hills CC, and is joined by West Virginia State transfer Ronnie Matthews III (Jacksonville, Ala.), Monroe College transfer Chazz Alexander (Palo Seco, Trinidad and Tobago) and Emory & Henry transfer Nour Nabi (Woodbridge, Va.), who took ninth in the heptathlon at last year's SAC Championship.
Freshmen sprinters for the Pioneers include Ivan Garcia Rubio (Dos Hermanas, Spain), who will also compete in hurdles, along with Alden Peterson (Harmony, Fla.), Darien Humphreys (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Cedric Stewart II (Dallas, Ga.). Tomas Figueiras (Lisbon, Portugal) will compete in both sprints and jumps for the Pioneers, while grad student Jamal Cash (Kingman, Ariz.) and sophomore Justin Williams (Suffolk, Va.), an Emory & Henry transfer.
The Pioneers have a deep lineup of distance runners, led by junior Nathan Buckeridge (Haywards Heath, England) who was 16th at the SAC Cross Country Championship. Returning for the Pioneers are senior Jerry Ricker (Kingsport, Tenn.), junior Simon Ray (Greeneville, Tenn.) and sophomore Levi Carson (Hammond, La.), joined by freshmen Harvey Anderson (Beaconsfield, Australia), Casen Davis (Johnson City, Tenn.), Coen Morgan (Chisholm, Australia), Tomas Ribeiro (Colares, Portugal) and Albert Ziegler (Sollentuna, Sweden).
In field events, senior Jaden Gary (Miramar, Fla.) will compete in the shot put with Cunningham, Cash, Figueiras in jumps along with multi-event athletes Humphreys and Nabi.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
All-American Jahzara Hart (Raleigh, N.C.) medaled twice at last year's SAC Championship, placing second in the 60 meters and third in the 200 meters, and was 10th at the NCAA Championship in the 60 meters. Hart holds the program indoor records in both the 60 meters (7.37 seconds) and 200 meters (24.42 seconds). Senior Shanice Cox (Minneapolis, Minn.) was All-Region in the 60 and 200 last year after placing second in the 200 and fifth in the 60 at the SAC Championship, while sophomore Qitarah Castlin (Griffin, Ga.) was eighth in the 200 at last year's SAC meet, and junior Alonda Shelton (Greensboro, N.C.) was 13th in the 200 meters.
Senior Theresa Green-White (Stafford, Texas), a three-time All-American and four-time All-Region honoree, holds the program record in the 60 hurdles (8.42 seconds) set while earning All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championship. She has scored eight times at the SAC Indoor Championship, including gold in the 60 hurdles in 2024. Sophomore Kori Moore (Jonesboro, Ga.) was All-Region in the 60 hurdles with a second-place finish at last year's SAC Championship at 8.62 seconds. Junior Kialia Claiborne (Lancaster, Texas) finished second at the region championship in the 600 meters for Barton CC last season, and freshman Jasmine Johnson (Greeneville, Tenn.) holds the hurdles record at Chuckey-Doak High School.
The distance group for the Pioneers is led by senior Jesica Mbhamali (Johannesburg, South Africa), joined by freshmen Abby Counter (Richmond, Texas), Tristen Douthat (Greeneville, Tenn.), Ruby Groves (Spring Hill, Tenn.), Hannah McLain (Limestone, Tenn.) and Skyler Shinn (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
Freshman Shamyra Reid (Ocala, Fla.) will compete in throws and sophomore Agustina Dittrich (Cordoba, Argentina) competed in the high, long and triple jumps for the Pioneers last season. Junior Kieley Smith (Greeneville, Tenn.) was 14th in the pentathlon at the SAC Championship last year and will be active in sprints, throws and jumps throughout the season.
SCHEDULE
After competing at the Tryon International Collegiate Opener, the Pioneers will head to Nashville for the Vanderbilt Invitational on January 16-17. Tusculum will make its first visit of the winter to the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem for the Banked Is Better Invite on January 25, followed by a trip to Louisville for the Lenny Lyles Invitational on January 30-31. The Pioneers will make their annual appearance in the VMI Winter Classic on February 7, then close the regular season at the Tryon International Collegiate Meet on February 13-14.
The SAC Championship is at the JDL Fast Track on Saturday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March 1, with the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship in Virginia Beach, Virginia on March 12-14.
