Prairie View A&M men's track and field opened its 2026 indoor track and field campaign with a series of solid early-season performances at the Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational on Saturday at Yeoman Fieldhouse, using the meet as a key measuring stick ahead of the heart of the indoor schedule.
In the middle-distance group, Sebastian Cruz and Todd Woods set an early tone. Cruz turned in a 4:31.86 performance in the mile, establishing a strong baseline mark in his first indoor outing of the year. Woods followed with one of the Panthers' top finishes on the track, clocking 2:03.14 in the 800 meters to place sixth in a competitive field.
Prairie View A&M's sprinters also produced encouraging results. In the 200 meters, Bryce McFadden posted a time of 22.03, signaling good early-season speed and positioning himself as a key contributor in the sprint group moving forward. In the short dash, Michael Rucker recorded a 6.98 in the 60 meters, giving the Panthers another strong effort in the sprint events as the squad settles into the indoor season.
In the field events, Devin Miller delivered one of the team's highest individual finishes of the meet. Miller cleared 2.05 meters in the high jump to secure fourth place, providing a highlight performance and an early benchmark that should keep him competitive in upcoming invitationals and conference competition.
The distance group added depth to the Panthers' day on the track as Thierry Garcon turned in a solid 3,000-meter effort. Garcon crossed in 8:55.38, giving Prairie View A&M a quality longer-distance performance to complement the work of the mile and 800-meter runners.
With the first indoor meet of 2026 complete and full results available online, Prairie View A&M will look to build on these early performances as the season progresses. The Panthers are scheduled to return to competition next week at the HBCU Showcase at The Armory in New York City, where the team will aim to convert its opening-meet momentum into continued improvements on the track and in the field.
