Eight Golden Eagles Qualify for NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East First Round

Valentino Rudolph races at 2026 SBC Championships

Eight Golden Eagles Qualify for NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East First Round

5/22/2026 5:13:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country

2026 NCAA East First Rounds Performance List

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Eight Southern Miss athletes have combined for nine entries in the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East First Round in Lexington, Kentucky. The NCAA selects the top 48 athletes in each men's and women's event in the east to advance to the first round with competition set to begin on Wednesday, May 27, and last until Saturday, May 30.

Southern Miss' qualified athletes are Ryan DeBarber, Javel Fullerton, Tyler Hughes, Conner Mozee, Tyler Nichols, Valentino Rudolph and De'Aundre Ward representing the men's squad and Alana Simon representing the women's squad.

Southern Miss' first competition begins with Ryan DeBarber in the men's javelin throw at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET). DeBarber is 42nd overall in the east region field with a seed mark of 212-11 (64.89m) set earlier this year at the Southern Miss Invitational. DeBarber returns to the NCAA Outdoor First Rounds for the third time in his career and first time as a Golden Eagle after qualifying in 2023 and 2024 at UNCW.

In the men's long jump, Southern Miss owns the top two seeds in the east region with Tyler Nichols and De'Aundre Ward holding down the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively. Nichols is the man to beat with a seed mark of 26-10½ (8.19m +1.5m/s) set at the 2026 Sun Belt Championships. That mark is also Nichols' personal best. Ward's mark also comes from the 2026 Sun Belt Championships where he finished with a 26-8½ (8.14m +1.0m/s) mark.

Nichols is making his first appearance in the NCAA First Rounds in the long jump, though he does have two prior appearances in the high jump in 2024 and 2025. Ward is one year removed from making the national championship in Eugene, Oregon, where he finished 12th overall. Last season in the East First Rounds, Ward finished second overall with an attempt of 25-5 (7.75m +0.6m/s).

Fullerton takes the track first on Wednesday, May 27, at 7:20 p.m. CT (8:20 p.m. ET) for the men's 400-meter hurdles first round. His seed time of 50.74 places him 28th overall in the field. Fullerton is making his fourth appearance in the East Region First Rounds and coming off a 25th-place finish in last season's competition.

Rudolph laces up for the men's 200 meters with the first heat getting underway at 7:45 p.m. CT (8:45 p.m. ET) His season-best and personal-best 20.62 seconds at the 2026 Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championship Finals gives him the 38th overall seed in the first round. Rudolph is making his third career appearance in the NCAA East First Rounds and first at Southern Miss. He previously ran in Louisiana Tech's 2025 4x400-meter relay team and in the 200 meters prelim in 2024 for the Bulldogs as well.

Friday, May 29, sees Conner Mozee's time in Lexington get underway with the men's discus throw beginning at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET). Mozee is seeded 31st overall in the field with a season-best mark of 184-11 (56.38m) set at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, which also set a new personal best. Mozee competed in the discus in last season's East Regional as well, finishing 36th overall.

Nichols makes his first attempts in the men's high jump on Friday as well with flights getting underway at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET). Nichols owns the fourth best overall mark this season in the east region with a personal-best 7-1¾ (2.18m) attempt at the Sun Belt Championships a week ago. Nichols is making his third appearance in the east high jump prelims with his best finish coming in 2024 with a 6-10¼ (2.09m) mark that ranked him 21st.

Alana Simon will be the last Golden Eagle to start on Saturday, May 30, in the women's high jump. Flights get underway at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) with Simon locked in a group of entries tied for the 24th-best mark of 5-9¾ (1.77m). Simon has made the women's long jump in each of the past two seasons, finishing 45th in 2024 and 27th in 2025.

Additionally, Fullerton and Rudolph could run again after the first days of the 400 hurdles and 200, respectively. The top 24 finishers in each event, selected using the top three finishers in each of six heats plus the next six fastest times, advance to the quarterfinals of their events.

The 400 hurdles quarterfinals are slated for Friday, May 29, at 6:25 p.m. (5:25 p.m.) and the 200 quarterfinals slated for Friday at 7:50 p.m. The top 12 finishers in the race, made up of the top three of each heat and next three fastest times, all advance to Eugene for a berth in the national championship meet.

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