Hooper’s breakthrough season takes him to NCAA championships

Hooper's breakthrough season takes him to NCAA championships

Kim Chaudoin | 06/22/2026

When Max Hooper arrived at Lipscomb University from his native Brisbane, Australia, he believed he could one day compete on one of college track and field's biggest stages.

He just did not expect it to happen this quickly.

Hooper, a rising junior distance runner for the Bison men's indoor and outdoor track & field teams, capped a breakthrough season this month by earning his first trip to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he competed against the nation's top 24 runners in the men's 1,500 meters.

"Qualifying for the NCAA Division I Championships for the first time feels surreal," said Hooper. "If you had told me at the start of the year that I'd be competing at nationals, I wouldn't have believed it. This moment means a lot. It reflects the progress I've made and the work I've put in throughout the season."

The trip to Eugene came after a standout performance at the NCAA Track & Field East Preliminary Round, held May 27-30 in Lexington, Kentucky. Hooper advanced through the opening round of the 1,500 meters with a qualifying time of 3:43.84, then returned in the quarterfinals to run a personal-best 3:39.33. He finished seventh overall, securing one of the coveted qualifying spots for the national championships.

At the NCAA championships at Hayward Field, Hooper finished the 1,500-meter preliminaries with a time of 3:47.90 which did not qualify him for the next round, closing a season that included multiple program records and nationally competitive times.

"I always believed I could reach this stage at some point in my career, but achieving it sooner than expected has given me a new level of confidence," Hooper reflected. "It's shown me how good I can be and motivated me to set even higher goals as I strive to become one of the best in the NCAA."

Hooper's path to the national stage began long before he came to Nashville. He started running at age 10 through Little Athletics, an Australian youth track and field program that his parents encouraged him to join. That eventually led him to the cross country team at school.

At first, running was just one sport among many. Hooper also played Australian rules football, tennis and rugby. He made school sports teams, but he said he did not take running seriously early on. It was something he did for fun, he admitted, largely because his friends were involved and because he discovered he had a natural ability.

"What I love about running is competing because I want to win," he said. "But what I love about running the most is where running has taken me. Most of the places I've gone and the people I've met have been because of this sport."

Running eventually brought Hooper to Lipscomb, where he competes for the cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field teams. His coach in Australia, Jayden Russ, contacted several schools on his behalf. After conversations with multiple coaches, Hooper said Lipscomb quickly stood out.

"The moment I hopped on a call with Coach (Nick) Polk here at Lipscomb, I could feel that this was the right place for me,"said Hooper. "I felt like I was wanted more as a person than just another number on a team. I also felt like I could bring a lot of value. Seeing the team progress as fast as it was from a distance, I knew I'd have a lot of success here."

That success accelerated this season. Hooper opened his 2026 indoor track and field campaign with an 8:01.76 in the 3,000 meters at the PNC Lenny Lyles Open on Jan. 31. He followed with a fourth-place finish in the mile at the ASUN Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 28, running 4:01.47.

That momentum continued into the outdoor season. At the Raleigh Relays in March, Hooper delivered one of the signature performances of his season, placing fifth overall in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.06. The time set a new Lipscomb program record and personal best against one of the nation's premier distance fields.

He continued to build momentum in April, leading Lipscomb in the 1,500 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, with a time of 3:41.20. In early May, he won the 800 meters at Vanderbilt's Music City Challenge in 1:51.03, one of several event wins for the Bisons that weekend. Less than two weeks later, he placed third in the 800 meters at the ASUN Outdoor Championships, posting a season-fastest 1:49.09.

Polk said Hooper's breakthrough was built on the work he had done throughout the previous year, particularly during cross country season.

"This outstanding outdoor track season for Max has been a direct result of the hard work he put in over the last year," said Polk, director of cross country and track and field at Lipscomb. "The real breakthrough happened during the cross country season, when he set the school record in the 8-kilometer race in 23:29. The strength he gained in cross country propelled him to his outdoor track success."

Hooper set the record in the 2025 ASUN Cross Country Championships in October, who finished fifth overall in the competition and earned All-ASUN first-team honors. He helped the men's cross country team finish as runner-up in the championships.

By the time he reached the NCAA Track & Field East Preliminary round this spring, Hooper had established himself as one of Lipscomb's top performers and one of the region's rising middle-distance runners. His personal-best 3:39.33 in Lexington broke through another barrier and sent him to Eugene.

As the competition has grown, Hooper said he has tried to keep his approach simple.

"When I go about competing, I try and keep things the same," he shared. "Especially as I begin to race at higher levels, I try not to overthink anything. I perform my best when I stay calm and don't use unnecessary energy thinking about things I can't control."

Off the track, Hooper is majoring in finance and minoring in data analytics. On the track, he has become one of the latest examples of Lipscomb's growing presence in distance running, continuing the momentum that drew him to the program from across the world.

"My experience here at Lipscomb so far has been better than I could imagine," said Hooper. "From the moment I arrived on campus, I felt welcomed into a community that genuinely cares about both my personal and athletic development. Being part of this program has pushed me to grow in ways I didn't expect, challenging me every day to become a better athlete, teammate and individual."

Polk said Hooper's impact on the program extends beyond his performances on the track.

"Max has not only been a great athlete, but he has also been a glue person for our team," said Polk. "He is a good teammate, he positively influences others and he is very well liked by his teammates. There is no doubt his success will help his teammates realize their potential as well."

For Hooper, the national championship appearance is not an ending. He said it is a marker of progress and a new starting point and now the goal is to keep climbing.

"I always believed I could reach this stage at some point," said Hooper. "Now it has motivated me to set even higher goals."