JONESBORO, Ark. (5/21/26) – The NCAA announced qualifiers for the Division I Track and Field West First Rounds on Thursday and 12 Arkansas State athletes are set to compete on May 27-30 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Declared athletes who rank inside the top 48 for their individual event and declared relay teams that rank inside the top 24, along with others added due to scratches, are accepted into the first round competitions. The East First Rounds will be held at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex in Lexington, Kentucky.
The top 12 finishers from each individual event and the top 12 teams from each relay event will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Egor Kniazev will compete in the men's hammer throw on Wednesday, May 27, at 9:30 a.m. The freshman thrower qualified with a 62.90m (206-4.00) mark recorded at the Joe Walker Invite on April 10.
Colby Eddowes will return to the West First Rounds and is scheduled to compete in the men's 110-meter hurdles at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The 2026 All-Sun Belt Third Team selection clocked in at 13.63 at the LSU Opener on March 21 to qualify.
The men's pole vaulters and throwers are slated to compete at 7 p.m.
John Carswell and
Jacob Dorrell are on the pole vault docket while
Menachem Chen,
Chris Boyd,
Omar Hussein and
Jared Moore are set for action in the shot put.
Carswell qualified with a height of 5.25m (17-2.75) on April 2 at the Bobcat Invitational while Dorrell's height of 5.23m (17-1.75) registered on May 14 at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships secured a top 48 slot.
Chen's personal-best throw of 19.11m (62-8.50) one day later at the outdoor conference championships solidified a top 15 standing in the West Region and Boyd threw for a personal-best distance of 18.81m (61-8.50) at the A-State Alumni Classic to finish inside the top 20. Hussein qualified with an 18.38m (60-3.75) mark recorded at The Josh Reidinger Invite on April 24 while Moore's personal best of 17.88m (58-8.00) set at the outdoor conference championships secured a spot alongside the other 47 competitors.
Brandon Williams will cap the Red Wolves' opening day when he competes in the men's 800 meters at 7:50 p.m. The 2026 Sun Belt silver medalist set a program record on May 1 at the Maroon and White Tune Up, clocking in at 1:48.30 to surpass Hannes Fahl's previous program best established in 2023.
Kiara Strayhorn will be the first A-State athlete to compete on Thursday, May 28, when the women's long jump begins at 6:30 p.m. The 2026 Sun Belt silver medalist surpassed Sharika Nelvis' (2013) previous program record in the event with a 6.43m (21-1.25) jump at the Bobcat Invitational.
At 7 p.m.,
Carly Pujol is slated for action in the women's pole vault and
Selase Sampram will compete in the women's shot put. Pujol secured her second consecutive gold medal in the event at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships and qualified with a season-best height of 4.21m (13-9.75) at the A-State Alumni Classic on April 17.
Sampram's distance of 16.25m (53-3.75) registered on April 10 at the Joe Walker Invite secured a top 20 standing in the West Region.
Chen will compete one more time on Friday, May 29, at 1 p.m. in the men's discus throw. The program record holder in the event qualified with a season-best 56.11m (184-1.00) throw at the LSU Opener.
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