Lindsay, Uhlin Earn First Team All-America Honors at NCAA Championship
Jun 12, 2026 | Track & Field
A total of four Wildcats earn First Team accolades after the first two days of competition
EUGENE, Ore. – The K-State track and field teams had two Wildcats, seniors Aaliyah Lindsay and Emil Uhlin, earn First Team All-America accolades on Thursday (June 11) during the second day of the NCAA Championship at Hayward Field.
After seven events the men are in 2nd place with 20 points, and after the women's first day of competition with six events the women have one point tied for 37th. After the first two days of competition a total of four Wildcats earned First Team honors, junior Tah Chikomba was crowned the long jump champion on Wednesday, the first K-State men's champion since 2022.
Uhlin, a native of Falun, Sweden, earned his First Team accolade in the men's decathlon after a 5th place finish with 7,976 points, a new personal best by 117 points. That performance advances him to the no. 3 best decathlon in K-State school history, just 28 points shy of the second-best Wildcat in the event, Moritz Cleve with 8,004 points in 2009. This is Uhlin's second consecutive First Team honor after finishing 3rd in 2025 with 7,859 points.
Uhlin had two personal bests during the last five events, in the discus throw as runner-up at 46.56m (152' 9"), his furthest throw by four inches, and in the final event of the day in the 1,500 meters in 4:20.20 where he finished 3rd overall.
Senior Aaliyah Lindsay, from Kingston, Jamaica, finished 8th in the long jump for her first First Team All-American honors in her career after a jump of 6.44m (21' 1.5"). After transferring from Kansas in 2025, she advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary in both the long and triple jump leading to her first postseason accolade.
In the final event of the day, the women's 4x400 relay team ran a qualifying time in the semifinal race to advance to the finals, finishing in 9th place at 3:29.63 featuring freshman Desirae Riehle, senior Vanessa Mercera and freshmen Delaney Brinker and Anastasiia Kretova. The final race will conclude the championship on Saturday at 9:21 p.m. CT.
The last time a K-State 4x400 team advanced to the final race was in 2014 when Sonia Gaskin, Tia' Gamble, Merryl Mbeng and Erica Twiss finished 8th with a time of 3:34.76.
"Our women four-by-four made the final," head coach Travis Geopfert said. "Three true freshmen on that relay, Vanessa is a senior. I can't, I'm just elated for those young ladies, they just did a fantastic job to make that final… It's monumental for our program to get in there and show that we got a real four-by-four that's vying for an All-American honor. And so proud of those ladies, they did an awesome job. Desirae did a great job on the lead off, Vanessa ran second, fantastic job, and Delaney Brinker, just her grit and resilience as well, awesome on the third leg, and then another true freshman, Anastasiia, on that anchor all the way through the line, and it mattered."
Freshman Dorian Charles completed his first decathlon at the national stage with a new personal best score of 7,764 points in 10th place for Second Team All-America honors. An improvement of 18 points, Charles still holds the no. 8 best score in school records.
During the final five events, Charles had two top-5 finishes, including winning the javelin with a launch of 66.35m (217' 8") which was almost 20 feet further than the second place finisher in the event. In the 100-meter hurdles he ran 14.37 seconds in 4th place. He then ran his fastest time in the 1,500 meters at 4:36.38 in 10th place, an improvement by 13 seconds.
Mercera also ran in the 400-meter hurdles semifinal in 57.25 seconds, finishing 17th for All-American honorable mention, the first accolade of her outdoor career.
The men's final day of competition will take place on Friday (June 12) starting at 4:15 p.m., CT with the discus throw. The meet will be streamed on ESPN2 with the start of the track events at 7 p.m. Three Wildcats will compete in the triple jump, junior Aaron Antoine, senior Apalos Edwards and sophomore Selva Prabhu.
FROM THE TRACK
Head Coach Travis Geopfert
On the work from the two men in the decathlon…
"Emil Uhlin had a PB, 7,976 [points] got fifth place in the meet, had a personal record in the 1500, he ran 4:20 which beat my personal record in the 1500 by one second. I told him I would give him a shout out on that, so he got me, and is a First Team All-American in doing it. So proud of the effort and the fight that he had. Dorian Charles also had a personal best, finished 10th overall in the decathlon as a redshirt freshman, had a PR in the 1500 meters by 12 seconds. The grit and the fight in that young man, I just really valued that. He just did a fantastic job, and the experience that he gained was phenomenal. And he's going to be back here and going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future, that's for sure."
NCAA Championship
Hayward Field
Eugene, Ore.
Emil Uhlin- Men's Decathlon
5. Overall, 7,976 points (PR)
11. 110 Meter Hurdles, 14.70 (1.1)
2. Discus Throw, 46.56m (152' 9") (PR)
6. Pole Vault, 4.81m (15' 9.25")
13. Javelin, 52.13m (171' 0")
3. 1500 Meters, 4:20.20 (PR)
14. 100 Meters, 11.04 (0.1)
21. Long Jump, 6.66m (21' 10.25")(1.1)
6. Shot Put, 13.86m (45' 5.75")
T5. High Jump, 2.04m (6' 8.25")
7. 400 Meters, 48.96
Dorian Charles- Men's Decathlon
10. Overall, 7,764 points (PR)
4. 110 Meter Hurdles, 14.37 (0.7)
8. Discus Throw, 42.41m (139' 1")
16. Pole Vault, 4.31m (14' 1.75")
1. Javelin, 66.35m (217' 8")
10. 1500 Meters, 4:36.38 (PR)
13. 100 Meters, 11.00 (0.1)
16. Long Jump, 6.98m (22' 10.75")(0.1)
16. Shot Put, 13.26m (43' 6")
20. High Jump, 1.86m (6' 1.25")
10. 400 Meters, 49.25
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles (Semifinal)
17. Vanessa Mercera, 57.25
Women's Long Jump
8. Aaliyah Lindsay, 6.44m (21' 1.5")
Women's 4x400 Relay (Semifinal)
9. K-State, 3:29.63*
(D. Riehle, V. Mercera, D. Brinker, A. Kretova)
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
After seven events the men are in 2nd place with 20 points, and after the women's first day of competition with six events the women have one point tied for 37th. After the first two days of competition a total of four Wildcats earned First Team honors, junior Tah Chikomba was crowned the long jump champion on Wednesday, the first K-State men's champion since 2022.
Uhlin, a native of Falun, Sweden, earned his First Team accolade in the men's decathlon after a 5th place finish with 7,976 points, a new personal best by 117 points. That performance advances him to the no. 3 best decathlon in K-State school history, just 28 points shy of the second-best Wildcat in the event, Moritz Cleve with 8,004 points in 2009. This is Uhlin's second consecutive First Team honor after finishing 3rd in 2025 with 7,859 points.
Uhlin had two personal bests during the last five events, in the discus throw as runner-up at 46.56m (152' 9"), his furthest throw by four inches, and in the final event of the day in the 1,500 meters in 4:20.20 where he finished 3rd overall.
Senior Aaliyah Lindsay, from Kingston, Jamaica, finished 8th in the long jump for her first First Team All-American honors in her career after a jump of 6.44m (21' 1.5"). After transferring from Kansas in 2025, she advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary in both the long and triple jump leading to her first postseason accolade.
In the final event of the day, the women's 4x400 relay team ran a qualifying time in the semifinal race to advance to the finals, finishing in 9th place at 3:29.63 featuring freshman Desirae Riehle, senior Vanessa Mercera and freshmen Delaney Brinker and Anastasiia Kretova. The final race will conclude the championship on Saturday at 9:21 p.m. CT.
The last time a K-State 4x400 team advanced to the final race was in 2014 when Sonia Gaskin, Tia' Gamble, Merryl Mbeng and Erica Twiss finished 8th with a time of 3:34.76.
"Our women four-by-four made the final," head coach Travis Geopfert said. "Three true freshmen on that relay, Vanessa is a senior. I can't, I'm just elated for those young ladies, they just did a fantastic job to make that final… It's monumental for our program to get in there and show that we got a real four-by-four that's vying for an All-American honor. And so proud of those ladies, they did an awesome job. Desirae did a great job on the lead off, Vanessa ran second, fantastic job, and Delaney Brinker, just her grit and resilience as well, awesome on the third leg, and then another true freshman, Anastasiia, on that anchor all the way through the line, and it mattered."
Freshman Dorian Charles completed his first decathlon at the national stage with a new personal best score of 7,764 points in 10th place for Second Team All-America honors. An improvement of 18 points, Charles still holds the no. 8 best score in school records.
During the final five events, Charles had two top-5 finishes, including winning the javelin with a launch of 66.35m (217' 8") which was almost 20 feet further than the second place finisher in the event. In the 100-meter hurdles he ran 14.37 seconds in 4th place. He then ran his fastest time in the 1,500 meters at 4:36.38 in 10th place, an improvement by 13 seconds.
Mercera also ran in the 400-meter hurdles semifinal in 57.25 seconds, finishing 17th for All-American honorable mention, the first accolade of her outdoor career.
The men's final day of competition will take place on Friday (June 12) starting at 4:15 p.m., CT with the discus throw. The meet will be streamed on ESPN2 with the start of the track events at 7 p.m. Three Wildcats will compete in the triple jump, junior Aaron Antoine, senior Apalos Edwards and sophomore Selva Prabhu.
FROM THE TRACK
Head Coach Travis Geopfert
On the work from the two men in the decathlon…
"Emil Uhlin had a PB, 7,976 [points] got fifth place in the meet, had a personal record in the 1500, he ran 4:20 which beat my personal record in the 1500 by one second. I told him I would give him a shout out on that, so he got me, and is a First Team All-American in doing it. So proud of the effort and the fight that he had. Dorian Charles also had a personal best, finished 10th overall in the decathlon as a redshirt freshman, had a PR in the 1500 meters by 12 seconds. The grit and the fight in that young man, I just really valued that. He just did a fantastic job, and the experience that he gained was phenomenal. And he's going to be back here and going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future, that's for sure."
NCAA Championship
Hayward Field
Eugene, Ore.
Emil Uhlin- Men's Decathlon
5. Overall, 7,976 points (PR)
11. 110 Meter Hurdles, 14.70 (1.1)
2. Discus Throw, 46.56m (152' 9") (PR)
6. Pole Vault, 4.81m (15' 9.25")
13. Javelin, 52.13m (171' 0")
3. 1500 Meters, 4:20.20 (PR)
14. 100 Meters, 11.04 (0.1)
21. Long Jump, 6.66m (21' 10.25")(1.1)
6. Shot Put, 13.86m (45' 5.75")
T5. High Jump, 2.04m (6' 8.25")
7. 400 Meters, 48.96
Dorian Charles- Men's Decathlon
10. Overall, 7,764 points (PR)
4. 110 Meter Hurdles, 14.37 (0.7)
8. Discus Throw, 42.41m (139' 1")
16. Pole Vault, 4.31m (14' 1.75")
1. Javelin, 66.35m (217' 8")
10. 1500 Meters, 4:36.38 (PR)
13. 100 Meters, 11.00 (0.1)
16. Long Jump, 6.98m (22' 10.75")(0.1)
16. Shot Put, 13.26m (43' 6")
20. High Jump, 1.86m (6' 1.25")
10. 400 Meters, 49.25
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles (Semifinal)
17. Vanessa Mercera, 57.25
Women's Long Jump
8. Aaliyah Lindsay, 6.44m (21' 1.5")
Women's 4x400 Relay (Semifinal)
9. K-State, 3:29.63*
(D. Riehle, V. Mercera, D. Brinker, A. Kretova)
-- k-statesports.com --
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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