Golden Eagle Men’s Track and Field Wrap Up NCAA East First Rounds

Friday, May 29

Lexington, Ky. / UK Track & Field Complex

Southern Miss

NCAA East First Round (Day Three)

Tyler Hughes celebrates his win in the high jump event at the Bulldog Alumni Relays on March 27th, 2026 in Starkville.

Golden Eagle Men’s Track and Field Wrap Up NCAA East First Rounds

5/29/2026 11:01:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country

Day Three Results

Tyler Hughes headed to Eugene after qualifying in men's high jump

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Southern Miss track and field athletes competed in the NCAA East Region First Rounds today at the UK Track & Field Complex across three events with bids to the national championship on the line.

Conner Mozee led the day off with his entry in the men's discus throw with the 12th position in flight two. He reached out to 157-2 (47.9m) on his second attempt which was his only throw to land within the angle. Mozee ended the day ranked 48th in the East First Rounds.

Two Golden Eagles suited up for the men's high jump with Tyler Hughes and Tyler Nichols both earning entries in the event. With the bar starting at 6-9 (2.06m), Hughes was able to move on on his first attempt while Nichols advanced on his second jump. Both Tylers advanced again on the next mark of 6-11 (2.11m) with Hughes again keeping pace, passing to the next rung on his first and only try. Nichols again clear the bar on his second attempt. Neither Golden Eagle was able to surmount the final mark of 7-1 (2.16m) in their three gos.

Hughes, having cleared the 6-11 mark found himself in a four-way tie with only two spots left to Eugene while Nichols finished 22nd overall in the East Region. Hughes was able to qualify in the jump off, receiving the 12th bid to the national championship.

On the track, two Southern Miss athletes looked to move on with Javel Fullerton running in the men's 400 meter hurdles and Valentino Rudolph competing in the men's 200 meters. Fullerton laced up first and ran in lane nine of heat two. He finished sixth in his head with a time of 50.64 seconds but was unable to advance with the event's 18th best time.

Rudolph, ran in lane two of the second heat and clocked a 21.03-second (+0.9 m/s) time to finish seventh in the heat. He ended the day at 21st overall.

Southern Miss now has two athletes advancing to Eugene with Nichols qualifying in the men's long jump and Hughes in the men's high jump.

Up Next
Southern Miss closes out its time in the NCAA East First Rounds tomorrow, May 30, with Alana Simon competing in the women's high jump as the only Golden Eagle competitor. Simon will jump out of the first heat with and owns a seed mark of 5-9¾ (1.77m), ranking her 66th in Division I. The event is slated for a 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) start at the UK Track & Field Complex.

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