Cards Qualify 18 Individuals for NCAA East Regionals

Jayden Ulrich competing in the discus throw at the ACC Outdoor Championships

May 16, 2024 | Track & Field

The regional meet, which will provide the opportunity for athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will take place from May 22-25 in Lexington, Ky.

By: Sam Gercak

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Louisville track & field teams qualified 18 student-athletes to the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round, as announced by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee on Thursday.

The regional meet will be held from May 22-25 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Facility in Lexington, Ky. The full schedule of events can be found here.

The field in Lexington features athletes with the top-48 marks in each respective event among schools in the East Region, following injury or withdrawal, with the only exceptions being the top-24 times for relays and direct qualification to the national championship meet for the top-24 marks nationally in the decathlon and heptathlon.

The top-12 event finishers from each region at the preliminary meets will advance to the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will take place in Eugene, Ore. from June 5-8.

Fresh off winning a pair of individual titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships, Jayden Ulrich leads the charge for the Cardinals heading into the NCAA regional, qualifying for both the women's shot put and discus throw. The junior's ACC-record mark of 64.29m (210-11) in the discus leads the NCAA on the season, while her shot put mark of 18.27m (59-11.25) ranks her fourth among competitors in the East Region.

In the men's high jump, Brion Stephens enters the competition with the top mark in the field, having cleared a personal-best bar of 2.23m (7-3.75) at the Texas Relays in March. The sophomore will be joined by a two-time outdoor All-American in Trey Allen, who comes into the meet with a season-best clearance of 2.15m (7-0.5).

Soledad Jean will compete in the women's iteration of the high jump, ranking just outside the top-10 marks in the East Region with a season-best clearance of 1.79m (5-10.5) at the Jim Green Invitational.

The Cards will also be well-represented on the track as Ian Kibiwot is set to toe the line in both the men's 5000m and 10000m, while Rylee Penn is set to compete in the women's 1500m.

Kibiwot, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, posted a program-record time of 28:26.67 in the 10000m at the Stanford Invitational that ranks among the top-ten in the field, while also boasting a season-best 5000m time of 13:45.58 that earned him sixth place at the ACC Outdoor Championships.

Penn comes into the meet with a seed time of 4:11.97 in the 1500m that was set at the Black & Gold Invitational and ranks her inside the top 15 competitors that will compete in Lexington.

The men's long jump will see four Cardinals compete for spots in the national championships as Jake Burkey (7.83m) and Jeremiah Willis (7.78m) both hold top-20 marks in the East Region entering the competition. Trae Burns (7.63m) and Roman Kuleshov (7.62m) are also set to make the first NCAA regional appearances of their careers to round out the men's long jump for Louisville.

Kuleshov also qualified for the men's triple jump, holding a personal-best mark of 15.73m (51-7.25) that placed him fourth at the ACC Outdoor Championships. Grigoris Nikolaou will also compete in the event, entering the weekend with a season-best mark of 15.44m (50-8) that was set at the Clark Wood Invitational.

The Cards will bring two more athletes to compete in the women's long jump, as Ariel Lawrence holds a season-best mark of 6.19m (20-3.75) and Lucy Fellows, the fourth-place finisher in the heptathlon at the ACC Outdoor Championships, boasts a personal-best leap of 6.14m (20-1.75).

Alba Cuns Iglesias will take part in the women's triple jump, coming into the regional meet with a personal-best mark of 12.79m (41-11.5) that was set at the Clark Wood Invitational.

In the women's pole vault, Natalie Lark enters the meet tied for the eighth-best mark in the region after finishing as the conference runner-up at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a personal-best clearance of 4.27m (14-0). Freshman Iliana Triantafyllou (4.18m) and Paris Bond (4.07m) also qualified in the event with a pair of personal-best marks that were set at the Clark Wood Invitational.

Erik Fertig rounds out the Louisville qualifiers, as the senior punched his ticket to the regionals in the men's hammer throw for the third straight year with a season-best mark of 61.50m (201-9) at the ACC Outdoor Championships.

The full list of Louisville athletes by event slated to compete in next week's East Region preliminary are listed below:

Women
1500m: Rylee Penn
High Jump: Soledad Jean
Long Jump: Lucy Fellows, Ariel Lawrence
Triple Jump: Alba Cuns Iglesias
Pole Vault: Paris Bond, Natalie Lark, Iliana Triantafyllou
Shot Put: Jayden Ulrich
Discus Throw: Jayden Ulrich

Men
5000m: Ian Kibiwot
10000m: Ian Kibiwot
High Jump: Trey Allen, Brion Stephens
Long Jump: Jake Burkey, Trae Burns, Roman Kuleshov, Jeremiah Willis
Triple Jump: Roman Kuleshov, Grigoris Nikolaou
Hammer Throw: Erik Fertig

For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track & Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram and Twitter account at @louisvilletfxc or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.