EMPORIA, Kan. — Senior Josie Parks clinched a spot in the national finals, and freshman Roselyn Spencer made history in the multi-events as the No. 11-ranked Harding women's track and field team opened the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Welch Stadium.

On a busy opening day that saw the Lady Bisons compete across relays, jumps, sprints, and multis, Harding collected multiple Second Team All-America honors and positioned themselves for a strong showing heading into the weekend.

Parks Advances to Steeplechase Final

Senior Josie Parks, a native of Columbia, Tennessee, made her outdoor national debut one to remember in the 3,000-meter steeplechase preliminaries. Running in the fast first heat, Parks crossed the line in seventh place overall with a strong time of 10:32.39.

While she had to wait for the second heat to conclude, her time comfortably held up as an on-time qualifier—even eclipsing the winning time of the slower second heat. Parks advances to Friday's national final, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., where she will look to become just the second Lady Bison to earn All-America honors in the event, joining Savita Chelimo (2006).

Spencer Makes Historic Heptathlon Debut

Freshman Roselyn Spencer, a native of Paris, Texas, competed as the first women's athlete in Harding history to qualify for the national meet in the heptathlon. As one of only four freshmen in the elite 16-athlete field, Spencer displayed poise beyond her years across the first four events of the heptathlon:

• 100m Hurdles: Spencer got her day started by running 14.72 seconds in the third heat to score 879 points.

• High Jump: She matched her career-best clearance by sailing over 1.69m (5-6.50), tying for the sixth-best mark in the field to collect another 842 points. After two events, she sat in fourth place overall.

• Shot Put: Spencer recorded back-to-back personal records, opening with a PR of 10.77m before throwing 10.87m on her third attempt to finish 11th in the discipline (587 points).

• 200m Dash: She finished her afternoon running 25.29 seconds in the second heat, adding 860 points to her total.

At the end of Day 1, Spencer sits in eighth place overall with 3,168 points. She is currently just 425 points behind leader Esther Conde-Turpin of West Texas A&M and in prime position to contend for first-team All-America honors.

Pole Vault and Relay Pick Up All-America Honors

Senior Cadence Sansom earned Second Team All-America honors in the pole vault for the second consecutive season. The Lago Vista, Texas native cleared 3.80m and 3.95m on her second attempts before clearing 4.05m on her final try. Sansom missed her attempts at 4.15m to finish 10th overall.

The women's 4x100-meter relay team of Tetiana Kharashchuk, Leila Ngapout, Kewes Gomes, and Roselyn Spencer represented the Lady Bisons at nationals in the event for the first time since 1998. Running in the first lane of the second heat, the team crossed the line in 13th place overall with a time of 46.66 seconds. Though they missed out on Saturday's final, all four runners earned Second Team All-America recognition.

Senior Tetiana Kharashchuk also competed in the individual 400-meter dash preliminaries, placing 14th overall with a time of 54.54 seconds to secure her second consecutive Second Team All-America honor.

Day 2 Preview: Parks Races for Gold; Onufriieva Takes Flight

The Lady Bisons will look to keep their momentum rolling into Friday, May 22, with multiple athletes competing for national titles:

• 11:00 AM – Women's Heptathlon (Day 2): Roselyn Spencer will look to secure an All-American finish as she completes the final three disciplines: the long jump, javelin, and 800-meter run.

• 4:45 PM – Women's Triple Jump (Final): Senior Hanna Onufriieva competes in the final of the triple jump. Onufriieva secured her spot at nationals with a clutch 12.28m jump at the Mother's Day Last Chance meet.

• 7:30 PM – Women's 3,000m Steeplechase (Final): Josie Parks will line up against the best in Division II seeking national hardware.

Stay tuned to HardingSports.com for full coverage and results from the national meet.