This post was updated June 25 at 9:17 p.m.

A championship meet can stamp an athlete’s legacy.

And for some, it’s their final time donning a collegiate uniform.

UCLA track and field competed at the Outdoor Track and Field National championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 11 to June 14. The women’s team placed 43rd with six points, while the men’s squad placed 51st with five points. UCLA had 16 athletes who qualified for the meet, with 13 crowned as All-Americans.

And it was the Bruins’ field competitors that stole the show.

UCLA’s field athletes scored eight out of its 11 total points, and all but one earned All-American selections.

Junior Michael Pinckney recorded four points after finishing fifth in the men’s discus with his 61.39-meter throw. The Queens, New York, local earned a First Team All-American selection, marking back-to-back All-American outdoor seasons after he finished ninth last season.

UCLA’s throwing arsenal did not stop there, as graduate student Jana van Schalkwyk delivered a 57.07-meter javelin throw, good for sixth place and a First Team-All American honor. Schalkwyk now boasts the second farthest throw in program history.

Throwing coach Sean Denard has influenced the unit’s development. Since his first season at the squad’s helm in 2021, seven throwers have earned All-American selections.

Yet the field consists of more than just throws.

Freshman Valentina Fakrogha competed in the high jump, where she placed eighth with a 1.84-meter leap, a personal best.

In the long jump, senior Sydney Johnson recorded a 6.15-meter jump while also competing in the heptathlon, where she racked up 5,635 points across four days of events. The Roseville, California, local placed 14th in both events.

Both Fakrogha and Johnson achieved All-American honors, with the latter earning a First Team selection and the former earning a Second Team selection.

Pole vault rounded out UCLA’s field events, with graduate students Ka’Leila Abrille and Katerina Adamiec competing.

After both cleared the 4.42-meter mark at the NCAA West Regionals May 30 – which tied the second-highest women’s height in program history – Abrille placed 12th with a 4.24-meter vault, but Adamiec didn’t clear a single threshold.

Gabriel Clement II headlined UCLA’s track qualifiers, cementing a spot in the 400-meter dash finals with a personal-best 45.35-second mark in the semifinals to place third in his heat and seventh overall. In the final, the sophomore boasted a 46.17-second time to finish eighth overall. Clement II was the first Bruin First Team All-American in the 400-meter dash since Craig Everhart in 2006.

The women’s team took the relay mantle, with both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays competing.

Redshirt senior Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck, juniors Naomi Johnson and Kaylen Fletcher and sophomore Taylor Snaer occupied the 4×100-meter relay legs. The bunch finished third in the second heat of the semifinals and 12th overall with a 43.35-second time, narrowly missing the 4×100-meter finals by less than three-tenths of a second.

A muffed handoff between Johnson and Fletcher seemed to impede the Bruins’ momentum heading into the third leg.

But the 4×400-meter relay squad – which consisted of Snaer and Johnson along with freshman Kayla McBride and senior Aly Conyers – picked up the slack.

The group clocked a time of 3:28.18 at the West Regional May 31, the third-fastest time in program history, to solidify a nationals spot.

And the squad put down two additional quality performances to end its season, posting a 3:29.63-second mark June 12 to snag the last qualifying spot in the relay final.

Out of lane one, the four athletes captured seventh place with a 3:31.14 second mark – enough to earn First Team All-American selections – the first time a women’s 4×400-meter relay accomplished such a feat since placing third in 2021.

Snaer and Johnson also suited up for the 200-meter dash preliminaries – their third event of the meet. Both posted sub-24 second times and placed 18th and 22nd, respectively.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the meet came when Ndjip-Nyemeck trampled over the first hurdle in the women’s 100-meter hurdle final, which prevented her from completing the race. The Brussels, Belgium, local recorded the fastest mark in the semifinals, boasting a 12.71-second time, which is the second-fastest in UCLA history.

Freshman Celeste Polzonetti raced in the same semifinal heat as Ndjip-Nyemeck, earning 16th place with a 13.22-second mark.

On the men’s side, junior Tamaal Myers competed in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing 19th with a 51.24-second mark in the semifinal. Myers completed his first season at UCLA after transferring from USC.

Just one Bruin qualified for a middle distance event, with freshman Marie Warneke qualifying for the women’s 800-meter run. No distance runners competed at the meet for the Bruins.

Warneke clocked a time of 2:04.59 seconds, finishing 18th in the semifinals. The performance came after the Gold Coast, Australia, local set the second-fastest time in program history at the West Regionals with a 2:02.93-second time.

The conclusion of the meet marked the end of director Joanna Hayes’ inaugural season at the helm of the program, and she will likely retain a group of underclassmen standouts moving into next season.

Looking ahead, Hayes may wield the pieces to construct a strong foundation.

UCLA is set to return to action starting in December, with the start of the indoor season.