Miami’s Edgar Campre opened the decathlon at the Ncaa Track And Field Championships 2026 by taking control after three events, sitting on 2,624 points in Eugene, Oregon. He built that mark with two second-place finishes, in the 100 meters and shot put, as Wednesday’s action got underway at Hayward Field.
The early lead matters because the decathlon is still only partway through its first day, with the high jump and 400 meters still to come before anyone can start thinking about a finish. The championships at Hayward Field feature past and future Olympians chasing individual and team NCAA titles, and the men at the top of the combined-events board are already under pressure to keep the pace.
Campre’s position also fits the larger shape of the meet. The final site was set after first-round selections were made on Thursday, May 21, with the top 48 declared student-athletes in individual events and the top 24 declared relay teams advancing into that qualifying process. The official final site selections were announced on Monday, June 1, and the championships were scheduled to begin on June 10, which is why Wednesday’s first events carried extra weight for athletes trying to turn an invite into points.
There is one odd seam in the coverage that runs through the meet materials: the championships are identified as the 2026 DI outdoor track and field national championships, but references also appear to the 2026 DI Indoor Track & Field Championships. The competition on the ground, though, is unmistakably outdoor and immediate, with the decathlon leaderboard starting to sort itself out one event at a time.
Campre still has work to do, and so does everyone behind him. The high jump and 400 meters can change the order quickly, and the athlete who led after three events at 4 p.m. ET will not be the one who remembers the day most unless he can protect that edge through the rest of Day 1 and into the final events.
