The road to Eugene officially begins this week as HBCU athletes from the SWAC, MEAC and other Division I Black college programs compete in the NCAA Division I East and West First Rounds.
The NCAA preliminary rounds act as the national qualifying stage for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Athletes are divided geographically into East and West regions, with the top competitors advancing to nationals.
For sprint and hurdle races, athletes must survive preliminary heats and quarterfinal rounds before national qualifiers are determined. Field events and relays use different qualifying structures, with most field events functioning as single-round finals where only the top 12 athletes advance.
Below is the complete event-by-event breakdown of HBCU athletes competing this week.
WOMEN’S EVENTS
Women’s 100-meter dash
Athlete School Seed Time Kiersten Clark Florida A&M 11.33 Mackenzie Robinson Howard 11.36 Diandrenique Gaines Florida A&M 11.15 Yahnari Lyons Howard 11.22 Janaree Kinchen Florida A&M 11.15 Makenna Urbanek North Carolina A&T 11.27
Women’s 200-meter dash
Athlete School Seed Time Yahnari Lyons Howard 22.34 Brianna Charles Hampton 23.10 Diandrenique Gaines Florida A&M 22.72 Nilijah Darden Howard 23.29
Women’s 800-meter run
Athlete School Seed Time Aliyah Williams Alabama State 2:04.87 Tiffany Mugubi Howard 2:04.86
Women’s 100-meter hurdles
Athlete School Seed Time Tashina Alase Southern 12.64 Jada Chevalier Alabama State 13.41 Lindsay Johnson Howard 13.38 Marcia Sey Howard 12.96 Ty’yanah Adams Florida A&M 13.07 Lauren Thompson Howard 13.27 Zamia Stelly North Carolina A&T 13.36 Rasunek Tyler-Thompson Alabama State 13.08 Brooklyn Robinson Norfolk State 13.13
Southern’s Tashina Alase enters with one of the top seed times among HBCU athletes in the regional field.
Women’s 400-meter hurdles
Athlete School Seed Time Chidubem (Miriam) Okwudibony Delaware State 58.35 Lindsay Johnson Howard 58.24 Aniya Woodruff Howard 57.94 Taylor Hankton Southern 58.41 Cenaiya Billups Howard 56.57 Katelynn Smith Florida A&M 57.95
Women’s 4×100-meter relay
School Seed Time Florida A&M 43.65 Howard 43.64
Florida A&M relay pool
Janaree Kinchen
Diandrenique Gaines
Arayana Ladson
Kiersten Clark
Ty’yanah Adams
Howard relay pool
Nilijah Darden
Marcia Sey
Yahnari Lyons
Mackenzie Robinson
Ai’yana Gray-Williams
Women’s 4×400-meter relay
School Seed Time Howard 3:31.79
Howard relay pool
Zoe Turner
Aniya Woodruff
Cenaiya Billups
Lindsay Johnson
Carrie Vannoy
Yahnari Lyons
Mackenzie Robinson
Women’s High Jump
Athlete School Seed Mark Spirit Morgan North Carolina A&T 1.84m Tia Lucas North Carolina Central 1.76m
Women’s Long Jump
Athlete School Seed Mark Keira Stewart Morgan State 6.22m Olivia Dowd North Carolina A&T 6.26m Arayana Ladson Florida A&M 6.29m Sanaii Gaines South Carolina State 6.34m
Women’s Triple Jump
Athlete School Seed Mark Jada David Grambling 12.68m Laniyah Henderson Morgan State 13.03m Olivia Dowd North Carolina A&T 13.03m Daedrian Beville Alabama State 13.22m
Women’s Discus
Athlete School Seed Mark Taylor Reagor North Carolina A&T 51.85m Nubia Evans-Shields Delaware State 51.56m Rochele Solmon Hampton 52.79m Olamide Ayeni Delaware 55.10m
Women’s Hammer Throw
Athlete School Seed Mark Jaida Graham Hampton 58.97m
MEN’S EVENTS
Men’s 100-meter dash
Athlete School Region Seed Time Jacory Patterson Florida A&M East 10.18 Travis Williams Alabama State East 10.20 Jalen Brown Norfolk State East 10.22 Xavier Butler North Carolina A&T East 10.24 Demetrius Colbert Southern East 10.25 Joshua Brown Texas Southern West 10.24
Men’s 200-meter dash
Athlete School Seed Time Jalen Brown Norfolk State 20.58 Travis Williams Alabama State 20.62 Xavier Butler North Carolina A&T 20.64
Men’s 400-meter dash
Athlete School Seed Time Khaleb McRae Howard 45.91 Justin Davis Alabama State 46.02
Men’s 110-meter hurdles
Athlete School Seed Time Malcolm Johnson Norfolk State 13.61 Darius White South Carolina State 13.72
Men’s 400-meter hurdles
Athlete School Seed Time Khaleb McRae Howard 50.11 Jaden Cooper Florida A&M 50.49
Men’s 4×100-meter relay
School Seed Time North Carolina A&T 38.91 Norfolk State 39.11 Florida A&M 39.20 Alabama State 39.28 Howard 39.44
Men’s 4×400-meter relay
School Seed Time Howard 3:05.77 Norfolk State 3:06.12 Alabama State 3:06.88
Men’s Long Jump
Athlete School Seed Mark Isaiah Greene Bethune-Cookman 7.71m Marcus Daniels Alabama A&M 7.66m
Men’s Triple Jump
Athlete School Region Seed Mark Braylon Carr Texas Southern West 15.49m Ahmad Muhammad Texas Southern West 15.50m
Men’s Shot Put
Athlete School Seed Mark Jordan Mitchell Southern 18.22m
Men’s Discus
Athlete School Seed Mark Jordan Mitchell Southern 56.11m
Men’s High Jump
Athlete School Seed Mark Caleb Grant Hampton 2.15m
How athletes qualify for Eugene
Sprint and hurdle events
Most sprint and hurdle races use this format:
Preliminary heats
Quarterfinal rounds
National qualification rounds
The top finishers in each heat plus additional time qualifiers advance.
Relay events
Relay teams compete once at regionals:
Automatic qualifying spots go to top finishers
Additional teams advance on time
Field events
Field events are single-round finals:
Athletes receive three attempts
Top 12 overall advance to Eugene
Why this matters for HBCU track and field
The NCAA preliminary rounds represent one of the biggest stages in collegiate track and field before the national championships in Eugene, Oregon.
For HBCU athletes, advancing through regionals means:
All-American opportunities
NCAA finals appearances
National championship contention
Increased national visibility for HBCU track and field programs
Programs from the SWAC, MEAC and other HBCUs continue to show growing national depth in sprinting, hurdles, relays and field events.
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