To be the best, you need to beat the best.

And after competing at nine indoor meets to start the 2026 campaign, UCLA track and field will send just a select few qualifying athletes to compete at the NCAA Indoor championships slated for March 13 and March 14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before moving to the outdoor half of the season.

The team started hot with season-opening men’s and women’s team victories at the Spokane Sports Showcase on January 16. Ever since, the Bruins have recorded new school indoor records in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, 600-meter run and the men’s weight throw this season.

Among the athletes competing is senior thrower Michael Pinckney – seeded No. 10 out of 16 competitors in the men’s weight throw.

Pinckney set the UCLA record in the event with a 22.72-meter mark Feb. 27.

This marked his third time beating a school record this year, as he broke his previous two records Jan. 23 and Feb. 14. The 2025 First Team All-American in discus may continue his success with a new personal best at the upcoming competition.

The senior’s success so far has garnered the attention of head coach Joanna Hayes.

“He’s doing great, working really hard. He’s locked into the technical aspect of it. He’s really focused. He and the coach have a really good plan,” Hayes said. “I’m really excited to see what he does, because he’s showing me he can compete against the best in the country, and so I’m really looking forward to his competition.”

Pinckney represents the sole men’s team athlete who qualified for the competition. For the women, the UCLA will have two individual athletes and a relay team.

Graduate student sprinter/hurdler Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck will lace up her spikes this weekend in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.

She is seeded eighth out of 16 competitors with a time of 7.98 seconds. Ndjip-Nyemeck is another Bruin who has achieved a school record this indoor season, blistering to the finish line with a 7.96 tally Jan. 24 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invite.

Ndjip-Nyemeck is a two-time First Team All-American in the 60-meter hurdles, earning this honor in 2023 and 2025, respectively. She finished her senior season ranked second in times in school history in both the indoor 60-meter hurdles – clocking an 8.01-second performance – and outdoor 100-meter hurdles with a mark of 12.71.

As Ndjip-Nymeck jumps over hurdles, another Bruin will jump over a different obstacle.

Sophomore jumper Valentina Fakrogha is set to compete in the women’s high jump. She is currently seeded No. 14 out of 16 competitors with a 1.86-meter mark. She achieved a First Team Outdoor All-American selection last year in the high jump. Fakrogha also took the spot as UCLA’s second-ranked all-time indoor high jumper on Feb. 20 with a mark of 1.86 meters.

With just three individual Bruins set to start, the women’s 4×400-meter relay is also slated to compete. The team has seven athletes listed as possible relay members and has a 3:29.87 seeded time – placing No. 11 out of 12 qualified squads.

But Hayes refuses to waver.

“They’re all very talented, and the great thing is, they’ll be fresh,” Hayes said. “None of them are competing individually, so they should be really feeling good. And I told them, give it everything you have one last time indoors.”

The relay squad consists of sophomore sprinters Kayla McBride, junior Taylor Snaer, junior Ava Simms and senior Naomi Johnson. The other three Bruins listed as possible competitors are junior sprinter/hurdler Keilee Hall, redshirt sophomore sprinter/hurdler Kapiolani Coleman and freshman Gabriella Taylor.

As the last indoor track meet takes place, these select athletes may carry the lessons learned from the indoor campaign into the outdoor season.