HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University track and field team will send five of its members to Lexington, Kent. for the postseason as they accepted invitations to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships East First Round, which runs May 22-25 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Facility.
 
The 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships East First Round will be live streamed on ESPN+ with live results also available through the NCAA.
 
Southeastern's men's field team will be represented by three competitors, all of whom will compete on the meet's first day. Terrell Webb will start things off with the hammer throw. He will be followed by Gabriel Lim in the javelin throw, and then Donroy Brown will end the Lions day in the shot put.
 
The SLU women's track team had two of its members receive invites to compete, both of whom will have their first round runs on Thursday to see if they can advance to the national quarterfinal, which will run on Saturday. Onyah Favour will run in the 400-meter dash while Esther Nwanze will compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
 
Webb earned his spot based off of his performance at the Keyth Talley Invitational at LSU back in March where he had his season best hammer throw, launching it 65.21 meters (213'11") to be the highest-placing collegiate athlete in the event. That was the 21^st-longest hammer throw in the East region to qualify. The hammer throw competition starts at 10 a.m. EDT/9 a.m. CDT on Wednesday.
 
Brown's spot in the East First Round based off of his performance in the shot put at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships where he won the bronze medal with a throw of 18.14 meters (59'6.25") and jumped inside the top-48 at the 40^th spot to earn a bid. The shot put begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT/5:30 p.m. CDT Wednesday.
 
Lim grabbed the final auto bid to the East First Round based off of his best toss in the javelin throw competition, which went 64.17 meters (210'6") at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays back in March, which got him a fourth-place finish on that day. The East First Round javelin throw is set for a 1 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. CDT start on Wednesday as well.
 
Favour got a late invite to the East First Round after she ran a season-best 53.51 seconds in the 400-meter dash in the finals at the SLC Outdoor Championships for a fourth-place finish to make a statement towards the end of her freshman campaign. That time moved her into 53^rd-place in the NCAA East Region performance list, earning an invite as other competitors in the top-48 declined spots. The first round of the women's 400-meter dash will run at 7:25 p.m. EDT/6:25 p.m. CDT on Thursday. Should she qualify for the quarterfinal round, that race will be held at 6:50 p.m. EDT/5:50 p.m. CDT on Saturday.
 
Nwanze knew she was in the NCAA East First Round immediately following her silver medal-winning performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the SLC Outdoor Championships where she finally broke a 10-year-old Southeastern school record which she had been on the heels of all season long as she crossed the finish line in 57.52 seconds in the finals. That time moved her into 18^th in the NCAA East Region performance list, well ensuring her an automatic bid. The women's 400-meter hurdles first round will run at 8:20 p.m. EDT/7:20 p.m. CDT on Thursday. Should she qualify to advance to the quarterfinal, that event runs at 7:25 p.m. EDT/6:25 p.m. CDT on Saturday.
 
In order to advance out of the NCAA Championships East First Round and qualify for the NCAA National Championships, the individual athletes must finish in the top-12 in their respective event, whether it be a top-12 time in the respective quarterfinal on the track or a top-12 mark in the first round of field events. The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships take place in Eugene, Ore. from June 5-8 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
 
Southeastern had two other qualifiers who had to decline their invitations to the East First Round. Slavko Stevic was a major contender to advance out of the East First Round to the National Championship final in the high jump as his best mark of 2.19 meters (7'2.25") from the Louisiana Classics back in March was the sixth-best in the East Region, but he declined his spot as he heads abroad to begin training to clinch the dream of representing his home country of Serbia in the Summer Olympic Games, which takes place in Paris, France, starting in late-July. Lance Hamilton had an automatic bid in the triple jump as his leap of 15.45 meters (50'8.25") from the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in March had him sitting in 34^th place on the NCAA East performance list. Unfortunately, he was forced to decline his spot due to an injury suffered at the SLC Outdoor Championships.
 
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