NCAA DIVISION I TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Eugene, Ore. | Hayward Field
Wednesday, June 10 | 9:15 p.m. (ET) | 6:15 p.m. (PT)
ESPN | MEET INFORMATION
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (June 8, 2026) – Nestled in the southwest part of the island of Jamaica is Saint Elizabeth Parish. Away from the hustle of the capital Kingston and resort towns like Montego Bay, it's a rural collection of villages of around 150,000 residents. It was there that current Mount St. Mary's sophomore Brandon Falconer grew up playing sports with his extended family. At first, Falconer aspired to make it in the world of soccer before a chance post-match meeting changed priorities.
 
"I went to the east coast of the island for a practice match." Falconer said. "We were recovering on the beach and there was this boat about 200 meters out, and I was throwing stones at it. The soccer coach asked if I liked to throw, and I told him I had been throwing to hit mangoes in the treetops for a long time. I had a pretty strong arm, and he asked me if I'd like to throw. I said 'Yeah, I'll give it a try!'. When he asked what I would want to throw, I didn't know the name of the implement, so I said the long stick thing. I balanced both soccer and javelin, and then I realized there was more to the sport – come to the U.S., get a degree – and I picked the one that worked better."
 
It didn't take long – a little over three years – as Falconer's natural ability to throw the "long stick" parlayed into a trip to the NCAA Track & Field Championship Finals in Eugene, Oregon this Wednesday. Of the thousands of javelin throwers in the country, Falconer is one of 24 athletes who qualified for the event. The group throws on Wednesday evening (Jun. 10) with a projected start of 9:15 p.m Eastern. 
 
On a personal level, Falconer set another landmark. He – along with University of Louisiana's Jemar Ferguson – will become the first student-athletes from the island nation of Jamaica to qualify for the NCAA finals for the javelin.
 
"To achieve that with him is a great feeling. I feel very excited – a lot of country pride. Doing something for my country and help put it even more on the map."
 
Evidence of Falconer's talent presented itself in the first meet he competed in for the Mount. At the 2025 Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational, he earned a throw of 69.02 meters, or 226 feet, 5 inches, which was good for the second-best throw in program history.
 
"That was a big motivation for me. That opened my eyes to what I can achieve. It gives me a setting range that I can do anything I put my mind to. Every day I go to practice, I go to the gym, I think about how to get better."
 
Although that first throw remains his best, Falconer maintained that consistency up to this current point, resulting in two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) individual championships, and six victories at various meets over two years. His efforts atop of group of four javelin throwers for the Mount to sweep the field, setting the tone as the men's outdoor track & field team won the 2026 MAAC Championship.
 
"Not beating that number can be hard. But you have to trust in your coach and trust in the work you are putting in, and know that one day, everything can come together to beat it."
 
Falconer's coach is Jim Stevenson, an alumnus of the Mount who is now sending a third javelin thrower to Oregon in his tenure, following in the footsteps of Kelly Yanucil in 2016 and Brian Sagendorf in 2021. Sagendorf is the Mount men's record holder at 71.67 meters.
 
"[Brandon] is very talented and very motivated." Stevenson said. "He's a hard worker/self-starter. He'll be on me if I don't communicate with him. Whatever we give him, he'll work hard. But then he's a student of track. That's a big thing. You can't do well in your sport if you don't know about your sport. The level of attention he puts in to following the best throwers is big."
 
The sophomore needed every bit of that work ethic and study to outlast a talented field of throwers at the NCAA First Round. Falconer was in the meet for a second attempt at the finals, coming in 22^nd place as a freshman. He was placed in the third flight, after half of his field, including teammate Thomas Lloyd, had already thrown.
 
"He held himself together better than most of the people in that field, and that's how he made it." Stevenson said. "It wasn't a personal best, but he got close to his best, and enough of the others in the field folded."
 
Falconer won his flight at the First Round and was third overall as the top flight took their turn. His mark of 67.28 meters withstood several members of that grouping as well to keep a top 12 qualifying position.
 
Beyond the track, the sophomore is a double major in business and economics with a minor in marketing. He uses javelin as a safe space and motivation, and in that event, he plans to push himself to become an Olympian.
 
First comes this week. The javelin event will be televised live on ESPN Wednesday night from the Universty of Oregon's Hayward Field.