BATON ROUGE, La. — Five members of the Southern University track and field program have qualified for the NCAA East Regional First Round, set for May 27-30 at the Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Facility in Lexington, Kentucky, the NCAA announced Thursday.
 
Representing the Jaguars on the men's side are jumpers Koi Wedderburn, Keith Fowler and Roman Smith, while Taylor Hankton and Tashina Alase qualified for the Lady Jaguars in the hurdles.
 
Wedderburn earned his spot in the long jump after recording a mark of 7.69m (25-2.75) at the Bobcat Invitational, the 29th-best mark in the East Region this season. The junior enters regional competition coming off a strong showing at the SWAC Championships, where he posted a jump of 7.45m (24-5.5), his second-best mark of the year. Wedderburn is scheduled to begin competition on May 27 at 6 p.m.
 
Fowler, a freshman, secured his NCAA berth after clearing 2.12m (6-11.5) to earn silver at the SWAC Championships. His mark ranks tied for 33rd in the East Region and sixth among freshmen nationally.
 
Smith advances to the NCAA East Regional for the third time in his career after earning All-America honorable mention honors at the NCAA Championships last season. The senior cleared 2.14m (7-0.25) at the Louisiana Classic earlier this season and owns a career-best mark of 2.18m (7-1.75), achieved at the 2025 NCAA East Regional, the 2025 LSU Alumni Gold and the 2024 SWAC Championships.
 
Fowler and Smith will compete in the high jump on May 29 beginning at 2 p.m.
 
On the women's side, Hankton continues an impressive freshman campaign in the 400-meter hurdles. She qualified with a personal-best time of 58.41 at the LSU Alumni Gold, ranking 41st in the East Region. Hankton has improved by more than three seconds since the opening meet of the season and earned a bronze medal finish at the SWAC Championships. She is scheduled to race at 8:20 p.m. on May 28.
 
Alase enters the regional round as one of the nation's premier hurdlers in the 100-meter hurdles. The senior reclaimed the NCAA-leading time at the SWAC Championships after blazing to a 12.64, matching the fastest time in the country this season. Alase and Kentucky's Emmi Scales have traded the nation's top mark throughout the outdoor campaign, with Scales later matching Alase's time at the SEC Championships.
 
Alase will be the first running event for the women's portion of the regional, with the women's 100-meter hurdle first round beginning at 6 p.m. on May 28.
 
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