Macon-Ford Finishes Ninth at Nationals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After hours of lightning delays at Karl Straus Track on Thursday, Leah Macon-Ford was finally able to get on the track and race to ninth place in the women's 100m dash at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Macon-Ford came into the event with the 18th-fastest time in the nation – a school-record time of 11.76 seconds. She was positioned to run in Lane 8 in the first of three heats (tied for the sixth-fastest time in her heat of eight) for a chance to qualify for the event finals on Friday. To advance to finals, she would need to be one of the top- two finishers in her heat or one of the next two best times.
With her goal set out before her, Macon-Ford waited for hours as the stormy weather continued to delay the scheduled 2:20pm start time for the event until 5:25pm. Eventually, she settled into the blocks, waited for the gun, and churned out a sixth-place finish in the heat with blistering time of 11.83. Heat winner Tyeese Smith from William Carey (Miss.) ran away from the pack with a time of 11.42 to take the first qualifying spot, but the next five finishers crossed the line within .02 seconds of each other. When the dust settled, Macon-Ford was clocked with the ninth-fastest time of all three heats - just .01 second from qualifying for the finals and an All-American title.
Head UHSP Track and Field Coach Maurice Lewis said he was proud of Macon-Ford for rising to and accepting the challenges he set out for her this season.
"After being "happy" to make it to indoor and outdoor Nationals her freshman year, our only focus was to be an All-American her sophomore year," said Lewis. "What ended up being the fastest heat of three in the prelims, which produced four qualifiers for Finals - Leah rose to the occasion and missed out on qualifying for Finals by less than a tenth of a second. I know she's frustrated as she didn't qualify for Finals, but after some processing I do know she'll appreciate that it's the highest national ranking she's accomplished thus far and will use that, less than a tenth of a second, as motivation to conquer her goals next year!"
After a little time to reflect on her performance at the national championships this year, Macon-Ford indeed kept a positive outlook, already setting sights on future goals. "It was better than where I was last year," said Macon-Ford. "Closer to an All-American title. I'll try again next year for the last time at UHSP. For my team, my coach, and UHSP."
The ninth-place finish is the highest finish of all four of the National Championships that sophomore Macon-Ford has qualified for and competed in her brief collegiate career. As a freshman last year, she finished 18th in the 100m dash at the outdoor championships with a time of 12.10. She has also qualified for two indoor nationals, finishing 15th in the Indoor 60m dash this past March (7.64) and 14th place (7.70) in the event as a freshman in 2025. She is the only female athlete in Eutectic track and field history to qualify for four national championships - every season she has competed for UHSP.
"The mental and physical growth I saw in Leah this year earned her the title of ninth-fastest woman in the NAIA!" said Lewis. "I'm incredibly proud of what she's done on the track and classroom thus far. I look forward to coaching her next year and achieving that elusive title of All-American with her!"