THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams will begin postseason competition at the 2026 NCAA East First Round from May 27-30 in Lexington, Kentucky.
2026 NCAA East First Round
- Wednesday, May 27-Saturday May, 30
- Lexington, Ky. (UK Outdoor Track & Field Complex)
- Championships Info
- Schedule
- ESPN+
- Live Results
The top 12 competitors from each individual event advance from the first round. The list of qualifiers from each event contested in the first rounds will be announced by 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. The final list of the championship competition participants will be announced by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2.
Sophomore thrower Tahir Hines will open for the Jackets in the hammer first round on Wednesday at 10 a.m. He broke the program record with his 64.50m throw at the Raleigh Relays to kickstart his incredible season in the circle. His best mark in each of his eight appearances are among the furthest in program history.
Lottie Chappell secured one of the final spots in the 1500m field and will race in the first round event on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Chappell set two top-five program times in the 800 and 1500 events this season, her 1500m time of 4:16.53 was just 0.19 seconds off Nicole Fegans’ program record. She has set five total top-five program marks, two indoor, two outdoor, and was the leadoff of third fastest DMR time for the Jackets.
Friday will see the men running in the evening as Billy Carlton and Matt Castronuovo compete in the 3000, steeplechase quarterfinal at 5:40 p.m. before Taylor Wade races in the 5000m semifinal at 8:10 p.m. Carlton and Wade each set program records in their competing events, Carlton’s program time of 8:38.49 ranks among the top-30 nationally.
High jumper Kendall Ward will close out the championships in the high jump semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. Ward cleared 1.75m jumps in all three of her final appearances of the regular season and claimed ACC bronze in the indoor high jump this season. She nailed her 1.79m clearance on the first attempt at last year’s meet for her personal best and secured qualification to the national championships.
Ward will aim to return to the national championships after her 2025 appearance, Carlton qualified for his second consecutive NCAA First Round. The remaining four athletes will all make their NCAA track and field postseason debuts.
The women’s squad will aim to send an athlete to Eugene for a third straight season while the men’s team looks to earn a national championship entry for the first time since 2023.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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