Joshua Hornsby and Dominic Gates played multiple sports growing up, but the two Cal State Fullerton student-athletes each had the same goal – to compete in the NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championships.

Their dream will be fulfilled Wednesday when they step onto the track at the University of Oregon's famed Hayward Field. Hornsby will race in the men's 100m hurdles while Gates, John Clifford, Isaiah Emerson and Ian Dossman will compete in the men's 4x100m relay.

The five are the first Titans to qualify for the NCAA track championships since 2021, when Samantha Huerta ran in the women's 800 meters.

The men's 4x100m relay semifinal is set for Wednesday at 4:05 p.m. PDT, and the men's 110m hurdles semifinal will be held about an hour later at 5:08 p.m. The championships will be televised on ESPN on Wednesday and Thursday, with coverage moving to ESPN2 on Friday and Saturday. ESPN+ will also provide coverage.

"It's kind of crazy. Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to be part of the national track finals. Now that I'm actually doing it, it's like a 360 moment," said Hornsby, a senior from Fontana.

"I'm staying calm on the outside, but deep down inside, I'm jumping and backflipping. I'm ready and excited. I'm really, really, really eager to see what is going to happen."

Gates, a junior from Rancho Santa Margarita, called it a surreal moment. "Throughout high school, I would see online posts with track athletes punching their tickets to go to the nationals. It was super-cool. I can't wait to compete."

Fullerton's return to the national championships didn't happen overnight, said Marques Barosso, the Titans' track and field head coach. "We've had the talent the past couple years, but we were very young. Our athletes have finally put it all together, understanding what they needed to do at the big meets to reach the nationals. The talent was there; we just had to figure it out."

Hornsby and the relay team qualified for the championships with their performances at the NCAA West First Round in late May in Texas. At the regionals, Hornsby placed 12th in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.58. The quartet finished ninth in the 4x100 relay with a 39.26 time.

Sophomore Abel Jordan, who won the 110m hurdles and finished second in the 100m at the Big West championships in May, missed the NCAA West regionals because of a strained left hamstring. He will serve as an alternate for the 4x100 team.

Here is a look at the Titans who will compete at Hayward Field:

JOSHUA HORNSBY

At the Big West championships, Fullerton swept the 110m hurdles with Jordan, Hornsby and Carter Birade finishing 1-2-3. "I love to battle and compete. I didn't mind who won, as long as Fullerton swept the race and we earned the points," said Hornsby.

"Our hurdlers have great comradery at practice. They line up together and will race each other, like a simulated track meet. It's been a good environment for all of them," said assistant coach Melia Cox, who works with sprinters and hurdlers.

Hornsby, 22, who set a Fullerton record with his 13:51 clocking in the 110m at the Mt. SAC Relays in April, has a "stick-to-the-basics" training philosophy.

"As a hurdler, my body goes through a lot during the season. In the past, injuries slowed me down a lot. This season, I have tried not to do too much or too little. The coaches understand that we need to take a break at times, and that has really paid off."

The 6-foot-2 Hornsby played wide receiver and cornerback at Summit High School in Fontana. He attended Southwest Minnesota State University on a football scholarship for a semester during the height of the pandemic before transferring to Riverside City College. He played one season of football and ran track for two seasons at RCC, then transferred to Fullerton.

He graduated last month with a degree in communications with a focus on advertising. He plans to continue his track career as an unattached hurdler.

JOHN CLIFFORD

"For three years, I've told Coach B that I'm not going to leave here without going to the nationals. I told him, 'If it takes me to stay healthy all year, I will do that,' " said Clifford, who has been injury-free in 2025. "We are going to compete against the top athletes in the nation. It's amazing.

Clifford, 24, runs the opening leg on the Titans' sprint relay team. He has personal bests of 10.27 (wind-aided +2.5) in the 100m, 28.85 (+2.5) in the 200m and 49.53 in the 400m.

"John has worked very hard and improved his skill set at Fullerton," said Barosso.

The 6-foot-3 Clifford hails from the Nigerian town of Ughelli, an agricultural-trade center in the nation's Delta State. He attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a freshman before transferring to Fullerton. "My coach there had me running the 100, 200, 400 and the hurdles before I focused on the sprints," he said.

His father, who was a high school principal, and his mother, who was a wholesaler for building materials, raised six children. All six went on to college.

"I wanted to go to college in the U.S. My father said that he didn't have the money to send me abroad. He was surprised when I got the scholarship offer from Oral Roberts," said Clifford, whose father died in 2022.

Clifford, who was the Big West Men's Co-Track Athlete of the Year and conference 100m champion in 2023, has graduated with a criminology degree.

ISAIAH EMERSON

Emerson is an elite quarter miler. In fact, he ran 46.77 to win the Big West 400m championship in May. But he's also versatile, placing second in the Big West 200m. He will run the second leg for the relay team.

"I have a love-hate relationship with the 400. That's my best event, but it is the most painful for sure. I do love the sprints," said Emerson, who has bests of 10.64 (+1.6) in the 100m, 20.76 (+2.1) in the 200m and 46.85 in the 400m.

"It feels amazing being part of the relay team and going to the NCAA championships. At the regionals, we had a couple rocky baton handoffs and weren't fresh after the preliminary rounds. But we have trained well and should have a good chance of reaching the finals," said the 20-year-old Emerson, who earned Big West Athlete of the Week honors in April.

"The best and biggest thing about Isaiah is that he is calm and knows what he has to do at certain points of a race," said Barosso.

Emerson, who is 6-foot-1, competed for the Pacific Coast Shockwaves track team in middle school. He played basketball and football and ran track at Torrance High School.

He is majoring in kinesiology and envisions a career in the field of sports science or coaching.
 

DOMINIC GATES

"We are a great group of guys, and our chemistry is all there. We are all smart individuals – we know exactly what to do. It comes down to execution," said Gates, who along with Dossman was part of the five fastest 4x100m relay times in Fullerton history.

"My mindset is, 'We've worked too hard to roll over on our backs and play dead. We have to go in there with our fighting spirit that we always have

and with that chip on our shoulder – people often view our school as an underdog. We're here to make a name for Cal State Fullerton."

A 21-year-old junior from Rancho Santa Margarita, he has personal bests of 10.28 (+2.4) in the 100m, 20.84 (+2.4) in the 200m and 48.20 in the 400m. He will run the third leg in the relay.

"Dom is 'Mr. Dependable.' He performs well under pressure. If you need something done, you can ask him, and he will get it done," said Barosso,

Following in the footsteps of his two older brothers, the 6-foot Gates played football and ran track at Tesoro High School in Las Flores.

At Fullerton, Gates is a business major with a concentration in finance.

IAN DOSSMAN

"It feels great to reach the nationals. That was our goal all year. Going with the guys is going to be a great experience," said the 20-year-old Dossman, who is the relay team's anchor.

"Our qualifying performance at the regionals wasn't pretty. We had some bad handoffs, and we were still tired from the day before. But since then, we've worked on strength training and upright mechanics and done some explosive workouts. We will be ready to perform well in Oregon."

At the Texas Relays in Austin in March, Dossman established personal bests with a 10.16 (+3.9) in the 100m and 20.56 in the 200m. Dossman broke the Fullerton 200m record for the second time this season. His 100m time would have been a school record, but it was wind aided. He was named Big West Athlete of the Week for his efforts.

The 6-foot Dossman, who is from Elk Grove, Calif., competed in both football and track at Franklin High School. On the football team, he was a two-way starter, playing running back and outside linebacker. But he experienced multiple concussions and decided to participate in track only as senior.

"Ian just needs more high-level experiences on the track," said Barosso. "Going into his junior year, he will explode once he understands what it takes and how to perform with everything on the line."

A business major, Dossman envisions a career in investment banking but would first like to try professional track and field.