The Francis Marion University men's and women's track & field teams will open their 2026 outdoor season on Friday and Saturday (March 6-7) at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational Meet.

The meet will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Greene Track and Field Complex.

Long-time head coach Mark Bluman welcomes back 14 returnees on the men's team and eight returnees on the women's squad. To those numbers, he has added 15 newcomers on the men's roster and nine newcomers to the women's side.

The Patriots enter the spring season after competing in their inaugural indoor track & field season. FMU competed in four meets in the winter session, including the Conference Carolinas Championships held in Winston-Salem, N.C. The highlights of the indoor campaign for the Patriots included a pair of individual champions and a sixth-place team finish for the women's squad.

"Having four meets in the indoor season, you get the live competition, get the reps in, and get the experiences that prepare you for the outdoor season," said Bluman. "We continue to want to improve as we preach progress over perfection."

On the women's side, the Patriots return a strong core of returnees in senior Rileigh Lacy, sophomore Aukeyonna Sims, and sophomore Jazmine McDonald-Craft. The trio of women all scored at the indoor championships.

Lacy, a two-time first-team all-conference honoree, will look to retain her outdoor pole vault championship after winning the event in 2025. In her first indoor season with FMU, she won the Conference Carolinas Championship in the pole vault after clearing 3.32 meters. Sims, a product of Darlington High School, had a stellar indoor season after winning the individual high jump championship and placing third in the long jump. She has earned all-conference status three times in her career and placed third in the outdoor high jump last year. A native of Columbia, S.C., McDonald-Craft is the reigning outdoor champion in the discus and had a fourth-place finish in the indoor shot put.

On the men's side, Francis Marion expects to see solid contributions from graduate student Ryan Hunter, freshman Justin Miller, and freshman Jordan Davis. The men's team managed to score in three events during the indoor championship and will look to carry that success in the 2026 outdoor campaign.

Hunter, a native of Blythewood, S.C., returns as the individual champion in the javelin after boasting the top mark in the Southeast Region in 2025 to earn U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast All-Region honors. Miller registered a fourth-place finish in the indoor high jump to earn points for the team standing and will look to improve his marks this spring. Davis, a local product of Hartsville High School, had a strong indoor season, placing 11th in the shot put with a season-best toss of 12.70m.

The Patriots will compete in three regular-season meets leading up to the Conference Carolinas Championships, April 23-25, at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach, S.C.  Among the regular-season meets is the FMU Patriots Invitational that will be held on Friday, April 10, at the Florence Sports Complex.