A school-record ten Eastern Kentucky University student-athletes will compete at the NCAA East Region Track and Field Preliminary Championships this Thursday through Saturday at the UK Track and Field Complex in Lexington.
It is nearly double the number of NCAA regional qualifiers as any other Ohio Valley Conference school. Tennessee State has the second most with six.
Junior Haley Yost will kick off the action by competing in the first round of the women’s 1,500 meters on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Less than three hours later, she will race in the first round of the women’s 800 meters (8:10 p.m.). Freshman Nickson Rotich will close out Thursday by competing in the first round of the men’s 800 meters at 8:35 p.m.
If they go through, Yost (6:30 p.m.) and Nickson Rotich (6:45 p.m.) will compete in the quarterfinals of the 800 meters on Friday evening.
Juniors Jamaine Coleman and Jakob Dybdal Abrahamsen and freshman Samuel Abascal will race the quarterfinals of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in Friday’s nightcap at 9:00 p.m.
Saturday features Yost in the quarterfinals of the women’s 1,500 meters at 6:30 p.m. (if qualified), sophomore Tequan Claitt in the first round of the men’s high jump starting at 6:00 p.m., juniors Charlotte Imer and Luisa Boschan in the semifinals of the women’s 5,000 meters at 8:05 p.m. and senior Luis Luna and sophomore Erick Rotich in the semifinals of the men’s 5,000 meters at 8:45 p.m.
The top-12 finishers from each event at regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held June 7-10 at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
— www.EKUSports.com —
Steve Fohl
Associate Director of EKUSports Communications
