Track & Field Sends 46 Entries to Kentucky for NCAA East Preliminary

Wednesday, May 27

Lexington, KY

Florida Gators

NCAA Outdoor East Preliminaries

during NCAA Regional Practice on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Facility in Lexington, KY / UAA Communications photo by Mallory Peak

The Gators return to Kentucky for the East Preliminary for the first time since 2024 // Photo by Mallory Peak | UAA Athletics

Track & Field Sends 46 Entries to Kentucky for NCAA East Preliminary

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | Track and Field

The Gators will send over 40 entries to the first round for the 15th time since 2010, when the preliminaries shifted formats.

By: Andrew Hile

2026 NCAA East Preliminary Round
Date	Wed., May 27 – Sat., May 30
Location	Lexington, Ky. \| UK Outdoor Track & Field Facility
Meet Info	Meet Central \| Live Results \| Schedule \| Men's Heat Sheets \| Women's Heat Sheets \| Meet Notes
Watch	Wednesday (6 p.m.) \| Thursday (6 p.m.) \| Friday (5 p.m.) \| Saturday (5 p.m.)
Outdoor Records	Record Book \| Men's Performance List \| Women's Performance List
National Rankings	Rankings Central \| Men's National \| Women's National \| Men's East \| Women's East
SEC Info	Men's Home \| Women's Home \| Men's Records \| Women's Records \| Performance List
Track News	USTFCCCA \|Track & Field News
Social Media	Instagram: @GatorsTF \| X: @GatorsTF

LEXINGTON, Ky.– Florida track & field will set their sights on the NCAA East Preliminary Round from May 27-30, sending 43 athletes to Kentucky to compete for a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships behind 22 men's and 24 women's entries.

The top 48 individual and top 24 relay declarations within the East and West Regions earned berths to their respective preliminary meets. The top 12 individuals and 12 relays from each regional competition will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., slated for June 10-13.

Seeded at the Top
Eleven entries on the men's side hold top-10 seeds, led by sophomore Vance Nilsson, who owns the second-fastest time in the East in the 400-meter hurdles after a personal-best performance in the event at the 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships to earn bronze. The Gators also own seven additional top-five regional entries, including Justin Braun (400 meters), Oussama Allaoui (1500 meters), Jarno van Daalen (shot put and discus), Leikel Cabrera Gay (javelin), the 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay squads.

On the women's side, the Orange & Blue boast 14 top-10 entries, led by the national leader in the discus throw, Alida van Daalen, and Judy Chepkoech, who sits atop the region in the 5,000-meter run. In addition to van Daalen and Chepkoech, nine entries sit in the top five of the East, including Gabrielle Matthews (100 and 200 meters), Layla Haynes (800 meters), Tia Wilson (1500 meters), Claire Stegall (1500 meters), Hilda Olemomoi (10,000 meters), Asia Phillips (triple jump), van Daalen (shot put) and the women's 4x400-meter relay team.

Last Time at Kentucky
Lexington was good to the Gators when Kentucky hosted the preliminary round in 2024. Over the course of four days, 21 athletes punched their ticket to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championships where the men earned their third consecutive NCAA title. On the final day of qualifying, Alida van Daalen broke the UK Outdoor Track & Field Facility record in the discus throw with a toss of 65.25m/214-01.

A Triple Crown
Florida women's track & field completed its sweep of the Southeastern Conference Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field and Outdoor Track & Field Championships by claiming the program's eighth SEC outdoor title in school history earlier this May. With the sweep of the three SEC championships conducted in the 2025-26 season, the women in Orange & Blue secured their first triple crown since the 1996-97 season, which was also clinched at Auburn during the outdoor championships, and now join Arkansas as the only programs in the league to own multiple triple crowns.

All-SEC
The Gators had 18 athletes earn All-SEC honors at the 2026 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Alida van Daalen (discus), Gabrielle Matthews (100m), Asia Phillips (triple jump) and Temoso Masikane (long jump) highlighted the honors with First Team honors after claiming conference titles in their respective events. Seven athletes were named Second Team honorees, while an additional seven were named to Third Team. The first team consists of the top finisher in each event, second team consists of the second-place finisher and third team consists of the third-place finisher.

In the Rankings
Entering the East Preliminary, the both squads sit in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA rankings, with the women staying steady in second while the men jumped nine spots to seventh from their pre-SEC Championship ranking.

The Hollo-Way
Head coach Mike Holloway and the Florida men's track & field team have totaled seven SEC championships and 16 runner-up finishes since his first season at the helm in 2003. In addition, the UF women have accumulated eight titles under Holloway's leadership, including the most recent victory at the 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships to complete the triple crown. Under Holloway's guidance, UF athletes have tallied 103 individual SEC championships on the men's side and 96 on the women's side.

Among the World's Best
Alida van Daalen etched her name among the best all-time collegiate throwers at the 2026 Oklahoma Throws Series. The senior recorded a school record toss of 69.17m/226-11 in the discus throw, giving her the third-best mark in collegiate history and the third-best throw in the world this year. At the 2026 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, van Daalen claimed her third discus title with an NCAA-leading mark and SEC meet record of 66.70m/218-10.

Holloway's Teams at the East Prelim
NCAA East Regional Qualifiers by Year // Entries by Year
Qualifiers: 429 men, 327 women (756 athletes) // 529 men's, 409 women's (938 entries)
2026: 24 men, 21 women (45 athletes) // 22 men's, 24 women's (46 entries)
2025: 20 men, 16 women (36 athletes) // 23 men's, 20 women's (46 entries)
2024: 24 men, 17 women (41 athletes) // 23 men's, 22 women's (45 entries)
2023: 15 men, 21 women (36 athletes) // 19 men's, 30 women's (49 entries)
2022: 18 men, 16 women (34 athletes) // 23 men's, 23 women's (46 entries)
2021: 14 men, 15 women (29 athletes) // 19 men's, 17 women's (36 entries)
2020: No Regional, COVID-19
2019: 17 men, 15 women (32 athletes) // 26 men's, 18 women's (44 entries)
2018: 19 men, 15 women (34 athletes) // 27 men's, 20 women's (47 entries)
2017: 18 men, 20 women (38 athletes) // 26 men's, 26 women's (52 entries)
2016: 17 men, 20 women (37 athletes) // 21 men's, 25 women's (46 entries)
2015: 19 men, 17 women (36 athletes) // 25 men's, 22 women's (47 entries)
2014: 17 men, 20 women (37 athletes) // 20 men's, 23 women's (46 entries)
2013: 20 men, 21 women (41 athletes) // 21 men's, 26 women's (47 entries)
2012: 17 men, 21 women (38 athletes) // 21 men's, 24 women's (45 entries)
2011: 22 men, 17 women (39 athletes) // 28 men's, 22 women's (50 entries)
2010: 19 men, 16 women (35 athletes) // 33 men's, 21 women's (54 entries)^
2009: 21 men, 22 women (44 athletes) // 26 men's, 26 women's (52 entries)
2008: 19 men, 17 women (36 athletes) // 18 men's, 20 women's (38 entries)**
2007: 16 men // 17 men's entries
2006: 19 men // 21 men's entries
2005: 17 men // 23 men's entries
2004: 18 men // 24 men's entries
2003: 19 men // 23 men's entries
^ denotes change to two preliminary meets with top 48 athletes per event, instead of qualifying for one of four regional meets via specific entry marks
**denotes Holloway's first year as women's head coach

Day One Entries (all times ET)
Time	Event	Athletes
10:00 AM	Men's Hammer Throw	Basel Abosinal
1:00 PM	Men's Javelin Throw	Leikel Cabrera Gay, Ayden Campbell
6:00 PM	Men's Long Jump	Temoso Masikane
6:30 PM	Men's Shot Put	Jarno van Daalen
6:30 PM	Men's 1500m - First Round	Oussama Allaoui, Riley Smith
7:00 PM	Men's 100m - First Round	Trenton Howard
7:25 PM	Men's 400m - First Round	Justin Braun, Nicholas Spikes
7:50 PM	Men's 800m - First Round	Jonah Kirspel, Gavin Nelson, Miguel Pantojas
8:20 PM	Men's 400m Hurdles - First Round	Vance Nilsson, Daneil Wright
8:45 PM	Men's 200m - First Round	Wanya McCoy
9:10 PM	Men's 10,000m - Semifinal	Kelvin Cheruiyot
Day Two Entries (all times ET)
10:00 AM	Women's Hammer Throw	Imani Washington
6:30 PM	Women's Shot Put	Gracelyn Leiseth, Alida van Daalen
6:30 PM	Women's 1500m - First Round	Claire Stegall, Tia Wilson
7:00 PM	Women's 100m - First Round	Jade Brown, Gabrielle Matthews
7:25 PM	Women's 400m - First Round	Quincy Penn, Sydney Sutton
7:50 PM	Women's 800m - First Round	Layla Haynes
8:20 PM	Women's 400m Hurdles - First Round	Marianna Wright
8:45 PM	Women's 200m - First Round	Gabrielle Matthews
9:10 PM	Women's 10,000m - Semifinal	Reagan Gilmore, Hilda Olemomoi
Day Three Entries (all times ET)
1:00 PM	Men's Discus Throw	Jarno van Daalen
5:00 PM	Men's 4x100m Relay	Trenton Howard, Jaden Wiley, Ja'Neil Harris, Malique Smith-Band, Justin Braun, Nicholas Spikes
5:15 PM	Men's 1500m - Quarterfinal	TBD
5:40 PM	Men's 3000m Steeple - Quarterfinal	Graham Myers
6:00 PM	Men's Triple Jump	Jaden Lippett
6:35 PM	Men's 100m - Quarterfinal	TBD
6:50 PM	Men's 400m - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:05 PM	Men's 800m - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:25 PM	Men's 400m Hurdles - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:50 PM	Men's 200m - Quarterfinal	TBD
8:45 PM	Men's 4x400m Relay - Quarterfinal	Jayden Horton-Mims, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band, Justin Braun, Vance Nilsson, Miguel Pantojas, Daneil Wright
Day Four Entries (all times ET)
1:00 PM	Women's Discus Throw	Akaris Isaac, Gracelyn Leiseth, Alida van Daalen
5:00 PM	Women's 4x100m Relay - Quarterfinal	Quincy Penn, Jade Brown, Gabrielle Matthews, Sydney Sutton, Payton Payne, Pauline Bikembo
5:15 PM	Women's 1500m - Quarterfinal	TBD
6:00 PM	Women's Triple Jump	Asia Phillips, Gabrielle Pierre
6:35 PM	Women's 100m - Quarterfinal	TBD
6:50 PM	Women's 400m - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:05 PM	Women's 800m - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:25 PM	Women's 400m Hurdles - Quarterfinal	TBD
7:50 PM	Women's 200m - Quarterfinal	TBD
8:10 PM	Women's 5000m - Semifinal	Judy Chepkoech, Hilda Olemomoi, Tia Wilson
8:45 PM	Women's 4x400m Relay - Quarterfinal	Quincy Penn, Gabrielle Matthews, Sydney Sutton, Malia Campbell, Layla Haynes, Payton Payne