Five Penguins will compete over the course of three days at the NCAA Track and Field East Preliminaries in Lexington, Kentucky, hosted at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Complex.
Representing the Penguins at the preliminaries are Lukas Lang (pole vault), Micah Mitchell (110m hurdles), Sage Vavro (3000m steeplechase), Ainsley Hamsher (pole vault) and Kaitlyn Eger (pole vault).
Mitchell will kick things off for the Penguins on Wednesday in the men's 110m hurdles, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. He will compete in heat two, with the top three athletes from each heat, along with the next six fastest times overall, advancing to Friday's quarterfinals.
Mitchell heads to Kentucky for his second consecutive NCAA preliminaries appearance after claiming the 2026 Outdoor Horizon League title in the 110m hurdles and setting a new personal-best and school-record time of 13.83 seconds in the event.
In his NCAA preliminaries debut last season, Mitchell clocked a time of 15.86 seconds in the 100m hurdles.
At 6:30 p.m., Lang will make his NCAA debut in the pole vault, competing in the second flight. The top 12 overall placers will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
On Thursday, both Hamsher and Eger will compete in the women's pole vault beginning at 6:30 p.m. The two Penguins will compete in the first flight, with the top 12 overall placers earning a spot in Eugene.
Hamsher will compete in her second consecutive NCAA preliminaries, while Eager makes her debut following an outdoor season in which she cleared a career-best 4.07m.
Vavro returns to the preliminaries in the 3000m steeplechase, scheduled to begin Friday at 5:40 p.m. He will compete in the third heat, with the top three athletes from each heat, along with the next three fastest times overall, advancing to the championships.
Vavro enters the NCAA East First Round with a program-record and personal-best time of 8:47.06, nearly 22 seconds faster than the 9:08.17 he ran in his NCAA debut last season.
YSU Competition Schedule
Wednesday, May 27
6 p.m. - Men's 110m Hurdles
6:30 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault
Thursday, May 28
6:30 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault
Friday, May 29
5:40 p.m. - Men's Steeplechase
