The recently graduated pair of Alyssa Jones ’26 and Sydney Barta ’26 took home national titles at the 2026 Toyota USA Track & Field (USATF) Outdoor and Para National Championships. From July 23 to 26, the nation’s best track and field athletes competed at Icahn Stadium in New York, New York. 

Coming off of an impressive senior season, the jump specialist and NCAA champion added her first national title to a long list of accolades on Sunday. Jones, a civil engineering graduate from Homestead, Fla., was named both the ACC Indoor and Outdoor field athlete of the year for her final season on The Farm. 

With a second-round jump of 6.96 meters (22 feet, 10 inches), Jones upset the reigning Olympic gold medalist to win the event in New York. She currently sits with the ninth-best mark in the world this year, from her 7.09m personal best set at NCAA West First Rounds meet in May. 

Barta, a below-the-knee amputee competing in the T64 classification, won the 200m sprint in a time of 26.97. She also competed in the 100m, running a 13.64 to finish second in her classification. 

Barta, an American record holder and the first Paralympian to compete for Stanford track and field, was named a recipient of the Rhodes scholarship this past fall. She plans to study musculoskeletal sciences at the University of Oxford. 

Valerie Sion (née Allman) ’17, a two-time Olympic champion in women’s discus, won her eighth national title in the event last weekend, further cementing her position as one of the best throwers in American history. 

Also placing on a podium, distance specialist Grant Fisher ’19 picked up a silver medal in the men’s 10k in a time of 30:14.46. Fisher, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, narrowly missed the title, finishing second in the longest event on the track by 0.80 seconds. 

Additional Cardinal alumni who competed at the outdoor national meet: 

• Christina Aragon, ’20
  • 15th, 1500m (4:07.60)
• Olivia Baker, ’18
  • 18th, 800m (2:03.99)
• Ella Donaghu, ’21
  • 22nd, 1500m (4:17.72)
• Sean McGorty, ’17
  • 9th, 5,000m (13:54.37)
• Alaysia Oakes, ’26
  • 12th, Long Jump (5.70m)
• Roisin Willis, ’26
  • 4th, 800m (1:59.68)
• Juliette Whittaker, ’26
  • 6th, 800m (2:00.48)