HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's and women's track & field teams will be represented at the NCAA Division I East First Round at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Facility in Lexington, Ky., starting Wednesday.
 
After completing the Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Lions will send their qualifiers to the NCAA East First Round Wednesday. Onyah Favour will represent the SLU women's team, while Josh-Ty Brown, Donald Butler, and Gerrit Visser compete for the Southeastern men. The four-day meet will be televised on ESPN+. The livestream will begin Wednesday at 5 p.m.
 
Visser will be the first Lion to compete in Lexington. The Bocholt, Germany native put together a strong year in 2026, ending the SLC Championships with silver, doing so for the second consecutive season. Entering the meet with a career-best hammer throw of 62.86 meters (206'2"), the senior will kick off the meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Visser's mark stands at 42^nd in the East Region. Finishers within the top 12 will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Ore.
 
Also on Wednesday, Brown will take part in the shot put at 6:30 p.m., after winning gold at the Southland Championships. With a toss of 18.01 meters (59'1.25") at the conference championships, the sophomore finished at the top of the Southland standings, marking the only shot-put toss in the SLC at 18 meters or above in 2026. Brown's 18.01-meter throw is 41^st in the East Region. The top 12 placers in the shot put will advance to Eugene.
 
Butler, like Visser and Brown, will be taking part in the NCAA East First Round for the first time in his career. Butler enters the First Round with a career-best mark of 2.11 meters (6'11") in the high jump. The senior's career-best performance came at the LSU Alumni Gold meet with a fifth-place finish. The high jump will take place at 2 p.m. Friday. The top 12 placers overall will compete at the National Championships in Eugene.
 
After a successful Southland Championships that included gold, silver, and bronze medals, Favour will be taking part in two events in Lexington. On Thursday at 7:25 p.m., the junior will compete in the 400-meter dash preliminaries. With a time of 51.25 seconds, Favour's career-best mark is the 15^th-best time in the East Region. Her 51.25 time earned her silver at the SLC Championships. At 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Favour will participate in the 200-meter dash preliminaries. The sprinter's 23.19 time in the 200-meter race gave her a school record after a gold-medal performance at the conference championships.
 
For both track events, the top-three finishers from each heat, in addition to the next six fastest times, will compete in the quarterfinals Saturday. In the quarterfinals, the top-three finishers from each heat and the next three fastest times will continue their seasons in Eugene.
 
The top competitors from this week's meet will make the trip to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Eugene. The championship meet will begin Wednesday, June 10, wrapping up Saturday, June 13. The meet will be televised on ESPN2.
 
PODIUM CLUB/S CLUB  
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the track and field program are encouraged to join the Podium Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Podium Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern track and field program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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