Army West Point Athletics
Wednesday, June 10
Eugene, Ore.
Army West Point
vs
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Nathan Davis Earns Second Team All-American Honors at 2026 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 13, 2026 | Men's Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. – Army West Point track & field senior Nathan Davis concluded an impressive 2025-26 campaign on Friday in the championship heat of the men's 3000m steeplechase at the 2026 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
After putting up an impressive showing at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field East First Round, Davis made his mark in Oregon as he secured Second Team All-American honors after finishing 11th in the nation in the men's 3000m steeplechase in the championship heat of the event.
FULL NCAA DI OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Davis first competed in the semifinal round of the event on Wednesday, June 10. Davis ran in the first heat of the event, putting on a show in the final 200 meters as he flew from sixth place up to fifth in the final stretch to claim a spot in Friday's finals with a personal best time of 8:27.48 in the event.
Coach Mike Smith on Davis' Wednesday showing:
"Nathan Davis '26 advanced the NCAA final in the men's 3000m Steeplechase tonight. He ran the best race of his life and the fastest time ever run by a service academy man (8:27.48), breaking his own Academy record set back in April at the Virginia Challenge. The pace was honest from the start and Nate settled into seventh or eighth place for the early going. The 12-man race never really broke up and everyone was in it by the mile mark and Nate was in the middle of the pack. He runs his best when he is free from the crowd and can choose his own line into the barriers and he struggled on a few barriers because of the crowd."
"Then, with two and a half laps to go, the pace quickened and Nate had to respond. A lead pack of five broke free and Nate jumped onto the back of it and settled into sixth with two laps to go. There was still very little separation, and all six men were closely grouped as they came down the backstretch, all competing for the top five automatic qualifying spots to the Friday final. "
"Nate didn't look comfortable when I saw him with 600 meters to go, but he looked in control. The pace was quickening as they passed the finish line with one lap to go and Nate was still right there. The top five all surged as a group and a gap opened up on Nate as he came by me with a half lap to go. He attacked the last barrier before the water and started to gain on the pack of five as they went into the water jump. It was still anyone's race."
"As they all approached the water jump, there was a noticeable increase in tempo except for Nate who struggled ever so slightly as he headed to the barrier. He hit it and got off of it but stumbled on his landing and suddenly was down 10 meters to the pack of five. He quickly regained his balance and surged hard to the last barrier and cleared it with great momentum and then he drove hard to the finish. He caught the fifth place Oklahoma State runner with 10m to go and leaned into the finish to fend off any response at the line. Nate had the fastest last 400 meters in the race at 63.91 seconds and secured an automatic qualifying spot in the final on Friday."
"Nate said, "I had no acceleration into the last water jump. I like to jump off my right leg, and I got the left going into the barrier, so I just went with it and stumbled on the landing. Sometimes you have to just go with what you got. Coming into the final straight, I knew I had to hawk down the pack. I had to do something about that last water jump failure. I had to fix it." Fix it he did. Nate's .51 second margin over the Oklahoma State runner proved to be the difference between making the final and watching it from the stadium seats on Friday as the top seven finishers in heat two all ran faster times than Nate. None of that matters now. He has a spot in the NCAA final on Friday. It will be the fastest 3000m steeplechase race in the world thus far in 2026. Nate is the first NCAA finalist for the Army team since 2003 when Adam Burke made the final in the men's javelin and finished ninth. The top 8 finishers on Friday will score points for the team title. Army hasn't scored a point (men or women) in the NCAA meet since 2001 when Clay Schwabe finished eighth in the 1500 meters here in Eugene, Oregon. Nate is looking forward to the challenge."
In Friday's race, Davis put on a strong performance, holding in the front half of the pack for the majority of the race until a misstep out of the water barricade moved him to the back of the pack.
The East Greenbush, N.Y. native recovered and pushed back up to finish the race 11th overall with a time of 8:41.41 to secure his place as a Second Team All-American.
After putting up an impressive showing at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field East First Round, Davis made his mark in Oregon as he secured Second Team All-American honors after finishing 11th in the nation in the men's 3000m steeplechase in the championship heat of the event.
FULL NCAA DI OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Davis first competed in the semifinal round of the event on Wednesday, June 10. Davis ran in the first heat of the event, putting on a show in the final 200 meters as he flew from sixth place up to fifth in the final stretch to claim a spot in Friday's finals with a personal best time of 8:27.48 in the event.
Coach Mike Smith on Davis' Wednesday showing:
"Nathan Davis '26 advanced the NCAA final in the men's 3000m Steeplechase tonight. He ran the best race of his life and the fastest time ever run by a service academy man (8:27.48), breaking his own Academy record set back in April at the Virginia Challenge. The pace was honest from the start and Nate settled into seventh or eighth place for the early going. The 12-man race never really broke up and everyone was in it by the mile mark and Nate was in the middle of the pack. He runs his best when he is free from the crowd and can choose his own line into the barriers and he struggled on a few barriers because of the crowd."
"Then, with two and a half laps to go, the pace quickened and Nate had to respond. A lead pack of five broke free and Nate jumped onto the back of it and settled into sixth with two laps to go. There was still very little separation, and all six men were closely grouped as they came down the backstretch, all competing for the top five automatic qualifying spots to the Friday final. "
"Nate didn't look comfortable when I saw him with 600 meters to go, but he looked in control. The pace was quickening as they passed the finish line with one lap to go and Nate was still right there. The top five all surged as a group and a gap opened up on Nate as he came by me with a half lap to go. He attacked the last barrier before the water and started to gain on the pack of five as they went into the water jump. It was still anyone's race."
"As they all approached the water jump, there was a noticeable increase in tempo except for Nate who struggled ever so slightly as he headed to the barrier. He hit it and got off of it but stumbled on his landing and suddenly was down 10 meters to the pack of five. He quickly regained his balance and surged hard to the last barrier and cleared it with great momentum and then he drove hard to the finish. He caught the fifth place Oklahoma State runner with 10m to go and leaned into the finish to fend off any response at the line. Nate had the fastest last 400 meters in the race at 63.91 seconds and secured an automatic qualifying spot in the final on Friday."
"Nate said, "I had no acceleration into the last water jump. I like to jump off my right leg, and I got the left going into the barrier, so I just went with it and stumbled on the landing. Sometimes you have to just go with what you got. Coming into the final straight, I knew I had to hawk down the pack. I had to do something about that last water jump failure. I had to fix it." Fix it he did. Nate's .51 second margin over the Oklahoma State runner proved to be the difference between making the final and watching it from the stadium seats on Friday as the top seven finishers in heat two all ran faster times than Nate. None of that matters now. He has a spot in the NCAA final on Friday. It will be the fastest 3000m steeplechase race in the world thus far in 2026. Nate is the first NCAA finalist for the Army team since 2003 when Adam Burke made the final in the men's javelin and finished ninth. The top 8 finishers on Friday will score points for the team title. Army hasn't scored a point (men or women) in the NCAA meet since 2001 when Clay Schwabe finished eighth in the 1500 meters here in Eugene, Oregon. Nate is looking forward to the challenge."
In Friday's race, Davis put on a strong performance, holding in the front half of the pack for the majority of the race until a misstep out of the water barricade moved him to the back of the pack.
The East Greenbush, N.Y. native recovered and pushed back up to finish the race 11th overall with a time of 8:41.41 to secure his place as a Second Team All-American.
Players Mentioned
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