NATIONAL CHAMPS! 4x100 meter relay team wins first relay national title in Carson-Newman history
May 23, 2026

NATIONAL CHAMPS! 4x100 meter relay team wins first relay national title in Carson-Newman history

EMPORIA, Kan. – It was a historic day for Carson-Newman track & field as the 4x100-meter relay team won the 2026 Outdoor National Championship. It is the school’s first national title in a relay event and 13th overall individual national championship.

EMPORIA, Kan. – It was a historic day for Carson-Newman track & field as the 4x100-meter relay team won the 2026 Outdoor National Championship. It is the school's first national title in a relay event and 13th overall individual national championship. The men's team finished 13th overall, racking up 23 points across the weekend. 

For head coach Kieran Showler-Davis, this moment means so much to him and his group after the close finishes in the last five years.

"I think joy and relief are the big feelings right now, these guys have worked so hard this year, they've believed they can win this title from early in the season," Showler-Davis said. "They're all so close with each other so I think that bond with one another allowed today to happen and make it even more special. We've been so close so many times before. Second in 2023, third in 2022, to finally pull it off feels amazing."

The squad consists of Taylor Madison on the first leg, Amine Kasmi running second, Favour Ekpekpe in the third spot and Rylan Jordan running the anchor leg. The four were neck and neck with Pittsburg State going into the final corner, before Jordan took advantage of opponent missteps, sprinting home to a facility record of 39.30 seconds.

"We had a bad exchange on the first exchange, where Amine had to slow to get the baton, so that initially worried me as usually to win the national title you have to be flawless," Showler-Davis said. "Luckily the rest of the exchanges were great but it did look like it was going to be a close race with us and Pitt State until they made a mistake, but I would have backed Rylan there anyways. After that I knew no one would catch Rylan and so did he with how early he started celebrating."

This marks the fifth national title for the Eagles' track program in the last four years. In 2025, Andre Morrison won the 60-meter dash in last season's Indoor National Championships, and Maka Charamba notched a trio of titles in 2023, taking the 200m in both the indoor and outdoor, in addition to the 100 meters. It is the seventh track title of the thirteen all-time individual national championships for C-N.

Another important person to the Eagles is Dawson Jones. The seasoned sprinter traveled to Kansas as an alternate for the 4x100 relay, and provided a veteran presence behind the scenes, receiving high praise from his head coach.

"I want to give a big shout out to senior Dawson Jones too," Showler-Davis said. "He stepped in at conference and Lee Last Chance and came with us on the trip. Although he didn't get to run, he was part of the success ad has been like a coach and mentor to the guys on the team."

After taking first place, Rylan Jordan was in search for more hardware in the evening. The sophomore finished third in the 100m finals at 10.20 seconds. He won the bronze medal in the indoor season in the 60m. He capped off his second year with Carson-Newman by placing fourth in the 200m, 20.73 seconds.

Amine Kasmi was also in the 100m finals, taking seventh at 10.39 seconds.

For head man Kieran Showler-Davis, this national championship displays exactly what it means to be part of the Carson-Newman community and couldn't think of a better group to close the year with.

"I think this exemplifies what Carson-Newman is about because you have four guys with different backgrounds, two domestic Tennessee guys, two foreign guys, coming together towards a common goal," Showler-Davis said. "I think a big part of this success is the bond these guys have with each other off the track from the time they've spent together on campus and through the culture that Carson-Newman provides. I've been very blessed to coach them all."

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