Jacksonville, Fla. – Tye Hunt waited out an over four-hour weather delay, but that couldn't deter him from qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the long jump late Wednesday evening at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium at the East prelims.

Hunt, who was 13th at the same meet in the same stadium in 2023, wasn't going to be denied this time as he finished 11th with a final jump of 7.48m. He dropped to 15th following his first two attempts before jumping up the standings on his final attempt, which qualified him for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, next month (June 11).

Competing in the final flights, Hunt opened up his meet with a mark of 7.38m which put him in contention for a top-12 spot. On his second leap, he had a mark of 7.30m, but after the second round of jumps, he slid just outside of the top 12 which at that time was 7.41m or better. Seven of the 12 who advanced all competed in the final flight. The top jump was 7.83m by Albany's Louis Gordon. Hunt and Northwestern State's Roy Morris were the only two who had their final attempt as their best mark among the qualifiers.

Luke Laubacher had a strong opening night as well advancing to the quarterfinals of the 110m hurdles. Laubacher was second in his heat with a time of 13.82 seconds to place second and earn an automatic spot in Friday evening's finals. He opened the competition in the long jump around 4:30 p.m. and finished 35th with a best leap of 7.14m on his first attempt. Laubacher was able to get his three jumps in prior to the weather delay. The hurdles were originally slated fotr 6 p.m. but didn't start until after 10 o'clock.

In his NCAA prelims debut, Micah Mitchell clocked a time of 15.86 seconds in the 110m hurdles.

On Thursday, Ainsley Hamsher is set to compete in the pole vault at 3:30 p.m. while Esther Solarin will be in the long jump which is set to start at 1 p.m. following some late-night schedule adjustments.