Cards Qualify 23 to NCAA East First Round, Byrd Punches Ticket to Nationals

KJ Byrd competes in the high jump at the 2026 ACC Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Paige Kuwata | Louisville Athletics

Cards Qualify 23 to NCAA East First Round, Byrd Punches Ticket to Nationals

May 21, 2026 | Track & Field

The regional meet, which will provide the opportunity for athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will take place from May 27-30 in Lexington, Ky.

By: Sam Gercak

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The University of Louisville track & field teams qualified 23 student-athletes to the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field East First Round, as announced by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee on Thursday.

The regional meet, which will provide athletes with the opportunity to qualify for the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, will take place over four days from May 27-30 in Lexington, Ky. at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Complex.

The field in Lexington includes 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 both the decathlon and heptathlon.

The top 12 finishers in each event at the regional will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which are set to be staged from Jun. 10-13 in Eugene, Ore.

Along with the 23 regional qualifications, KJ Byrd officially punched his ticket to the national championship meet in the men's decathlon for the second time in his career, having placed seventh in the event last season as a freshman. Byrd will enter the championship with the sixth-best decathlon mark in the nation thus far this season with a point total of 7,891 that he recorded at the Mt. SAC Relays on Apr. 15-16.

The contingent of Louisville athletes in Lexington will be led by Elsingi Kipruto and Geoffrey Kirwa, who both enter the week with NCAA-leading marks in the men's 10000m and 3000m steeplechase, respectively, both of which were recorded at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Apr. 16.

Kipruto set a new ACC and program record with a time of 27:29.83 in the 10000m, while Kirwa also set an ACC and program record in the 3000m steeplechase while moving up to second in collegiate history and into the world lead thus far in 2026 with a time of 8:08.10.

Kipruto will also compete in the men's 5000m after winning the ACC title in the event last Saturday, where he will be joined by Leo Brewer.

Nancy Chepleting will double up in both the women's 5000m and 10000m, while Emma McGill and Eliza Nicholson are also set to toe the line in the 5000m.

Ryan Farrell and Ethan Brouw round out the regional qualifiers on the track for the Cards in the men's 800m, with Farrell notably qualifying for his first career regional meet fresh off capturing his first career ACC title in the men's 800m last weekend.

The Louisville jumpers will be well-represented in Lexington with a total of eight athletes set to compete in the horizontal jumps at the regional meet.

Roman Kuleshov and Miller Jones will double up in both the men's long jump and triple jump, with Kuleshov entering the regional meet fresh off winning a pair of ACC titles in both events while also holding a season-best triple jump mark of 16.57m (54-4.5) (+2.4) from the Virginia Challenge on Apr. 18 that currently ranks ninth nationally.

Eve Divinity and Sophia Day will compete in the women's long jump, with Divinity entering the competition with a mark of 6.61m (21-8.25) (+2.9) from the Bobcat Invitational on Apr. 3 that stands tied for the fourth-best mark nationally and tied for the top mark in the East Region.

Alba Cuns Iglesias, Anna Panenko, Sharvari Parulekar, and Athena Peterson are all set to contest the women's triple jump. Cuns Iglesias and Parulekar, who most recently finished second and third, respectively, at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, will lead the quartet that has ranked in the top three of the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings for much of the season.

Five Louisville pole vaulters will step onto the runway in Lexington, led by Ashley Callahan, who currently holds the fourth-best women's pole vault mark in the nation with a clearance of 4.60m (15-1) from the Bobcat Invitational on Apr. 3.

Callahan will be joined in the women's pole vault by Iliana Triantafyllou and Lydia Stuart, while Ty McPhail and Lucas Couron are slated to compete in the men's pole vault.

A pair of Louisville throwers will round out the regional competitors for the Cardinals, as Kaia Tupu-South will contest both the women's shot put and discus throw, and Matt Giuliano will make his first career regional appearance in the men's hammer throw.

The full list of Louisville athletes that are set to compete at the NCAA East First Round are listed below:

Men
Leo Brewer | 5000m
Ethan Brouw | 800m
Lucas Couron | Pole Vault
Ryan Farrell | 800m
Matt Giuliano | Hammer Throw
Miller Jones | Long Jump, Triple Jump
Elsingi Kipruto | 5000m, 10000m
Geoffrey Kirwa | 3000m Steeplechase
Roman Kuleshov | Long Jump, Triple Jump
Ty McPhail | Pole Vault

Women
Ashley Callahan | Pole Vault
Nancy Chepleting | 5000m, 10000m
Alba Cuns Iglesias | Triple Jump
Sophia Day | Long Jump
Eve Divinity | Long Jump
Emma McGill | 5000m
Eliza Nicholson | 5000m
Anna Panenko | Triple Jump
Sharvari Parulekar | Triple Jump
Athena Peterson | Triple Jump
Lydia Stuart | Pole Vault
Iliana Triantafyllou | Pole Vault
Kaia Tupu-South | Shot Put, Discus Throw

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