EUGENE, Ore.—All eyes will be on Hayward Field on Friday night for the national championship race in the men's 5000 meters. The last individual men's event to be contested at the 2026 Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships features one of the most talented fields in the history of the meet, and 24 runners will vie for the title at 9:55 p.m. Eastern time (6:55 p.m. PT) in a race that can be seen live on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
Villanova senior
Marco Langon (Raritan, N.J.) was the fastest qualifier from the East First Round which was held in Kentucky two weeks ago. He ran 13:27.93 at that meet and will run the 5K at Hayward Field for the third consecutive year. Langon improved 18 spots from a 21
st place finish in his outdoor NCAA Championships debut in 2024 to a third place finish last season. Four of his eight collegiate All-America accolades have come in the 5000 meters, including a pair of top-six finishes indoors (runner-up this year) and last year's third place outdoor result.
Langon has run two 5K races this outdoor season, and his times from those outings belie what he is truly capable of. He ran 13:28.43 at Duke on April 10 to get a qualifier for postseason competition, then followed that up with his national semifinal round race in Lexington, Ky. on May 29. His lifetime best and school record mark of 13:05.21 in Boston this past December, while his outdoor PR of 13:21.17 came in last year's NCAA final in Eugene.
That kind of speed will be on full display in Friday night's race, as two-thirds of the field of 24 runners has run faster than 13:30 this outdoor season. Eight runners in the field have lifetime outdoor bests below 13:20, while seven will be running their second distance race in 48 hours after competing in the 10K final on Wednesday evening.
Langon's versatility at different distances is one of the aspects of his talent that makes him elite. He is the second-fastest in collegiate history in the 1500 meters after running 3:32.79 in California last month, and he came back just a week after that race to easily win the BIG EAST title in the 1500 meters. Langon also anchored Villanova to a Championship of America title in the 4xMile relay at the Penn Relays, running 3:55.94 on the final leg of the race which was close to his open mile PR of 3:54.60.
Langon is the only athlete in Villanova history with a pair of top six NCAA finishes indoors in the 5000 meters, as well as the Wildcats only runner to tally top three finishes in the 5K both indoors and outdoors at the NCAA Championships.
Friday night's championship race will mark the close of the 2025-26 collegiate calendar for the Wildcats, who had eight teams either compete as a team or qualify individuals for national postseason competition throughout the year. Entering the track & field championships this week, Villanova ranks No. 76 in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings.
