Bermudian middle-distance standout Shayla Cann and her Elon University team-mates are preparing for a career-defining season following the unveiling of the Phoenix’s 2026 indoor and outdoor schedules. The upcoming campaign is set to be a historic one for the program, highlighted by the news that Elon will host the 2026 Coastal Athletic Association Outdoor Championships at the Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex on May 15th and 16th.
Elon will begin the indoor season with a series of familiar tests in Virginia, opening at the Liberty Open on January 23rd and 24th. The squad will return to Lynchburg for the Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational at the end of January before closing their regular indoor slate at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational in mid-February. The schedule also features two critical trips to Boston, where the Phoenix will compete in the prestigious David Hemery Valentine Invitational followed by the CAA Indoor Championships on February 22nd and 23rd.
The outdoor campaign officially gets underway on March 13th with the home-hosted Phoenix Invitational. In a strategic move designed to maximize home-state advantage, Elon will not venture outside of North Carolina for the entirety of its outdoor regular season. This domestic-heavy slate includes two short trips to High Point for the Bob Davidson Team Challenge and VertKlasse Meeting, alongside a pair of high-profile visits to Durham for the Duke Invitational and Duke Twilight. Other key North Carolina meets include the Raleigh Relays, the Wake Forest Invitational, and the North Carolina A&T Classic.
For Cann, who established herself as a vital component of the Phoenix distance unit with standout performances in the 800m and 4x400m relay during 2025, the 2026 season offers a chance to secure silverware on home soil. The Phoenix have been the dominant force in the conference recently, winning four of the past five CAA Outdoor Championships dating back to 2021.
Following the conference championships in May, the program will transition to the national stage. The NCAA East Preliminary Round is scheduled for Lexington, Kentucky, in late May, while the season will reach its ultimate conclusion at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 10th to 13th.
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