RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech track and field teams qualified 19 athletes in 11 events for the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida, starting on May 28.
 
The 19 athletes are the most by the Bulldogs since 2011. It also marks 30 athletes to make a regional under head coach Brian Johnson.
 
The men qualified six athletes across four events, Sabastian Bradley-Reed in the 400m and 4x400, Oscar Smith in 110m hurdles, Zachary Drake in the javelin, Donald Lamp in the hammer and Tim Rummelhagen, Cullen Hronek and Valentino Rudolph, Mekhi Gammons and Laeden Tucker join Bradley-Reed in the 4x400.
 
Bradley-Reed's qualifying time came at the Conference USA Outdoor Championship, where the indoor record holder almost claimed the top spot in the outdoor record book with a time of 45.88. In the same meet, he would team up with Rummelhagen, Hronek and Rudolph for the second-fastest time in program history, with a time of 3:05.77, just 0.06 seconds from setting the program record.
 
Lamp set the program record for the third time at the CUSA Outdoor Championship. The junior won gold with a throw of 62.02m (203-6).
 
Smith ran a 13.55 at the LSU Alumni Gold to place him 13th in the East Region and 32nd overall in NCAA Division I. Drake had a distance of 63.75m in the javelin in his first meet as a Bulldog at the Clyde Hart Classic.
 
On the women's side, Louisiana Tech qualified eight athletes across six events. Jamara Patterson and Osaretin Joy Usenbor qualified in the 400m and 4x400. Tyhra Charles earned a spot in the 200m and joined Patterson and Usenbor in the 4x400. Nia Wiley, Jenaia Williams and Faith Tarver round out the 4x400 team. Kimeone McLeod was the other runner to qualify, making her first appearance in the 100m hurdles. A'reil Williams (high jump), Kaitlyn Washington (Discus) and Maria Ferreiro Pena (javelin) were the final athletes to qualify.
 
Patterson and Usenbor have been two of the best in the 400m all season. Patterson has the second fastest time in program history at 52.66 from the Maroon and White Tune-Up, while Usenbor ran 52.67 at the CUSA Outdoor Championships for the third fastest time in program history. The duo teamed up with Wiley and Charles in the 4x400 to set the CUSA Outdoor record at 3:33.60.
 
Charles also set a PR of 23.46 in the 200m prelims at the CUSA Outdoor Championship to earn her trip to the regional. McLeod had her best time of 13.35 at the Arkansas Spring Invitational.
 
Williams and Ferreiro Pena are making their second straight NCAA East Regional. Williams's height of 1.76m (5-9.25) came at the Florida Relays, and Ferreiro Pena had a throw of 46.43m (152-4) at the Clyde Hart Classic. Washington set her mark of 51.03m (167-5) at the Jim Mize Invitational.
 
The NCAA Regional will begin on May 28 in Jacksonville, Florida, hosted by North Florida at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. All four days will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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