JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 31, 2025) – The NCAA East Regional wrapped up on Saturday evening with South Carolina putting the track world on notice in Jacksonville, Fla. The Gamecocks combined for 11 tickets punched to nationals, including nine on the track.

The field events kicked things off on the final day of the regional meet with Cameran Gist and Cheyla Scott earning their way to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Gist jumped a personal best 13.07m (42-10.75) to place seventh overall for the automatic qualifying spot. Additionally, Gist improves on her fifth-place mark in program history and becomes just the fifth Gamecock to eclipse the 13.00m mark. Scott punched her ticket for the second consecutive year in the high jump, clearing each bar with ease as she needed to clear just 1.82m (5-11.5) to advance to nationals. Scott will look to improve on last year’s performance when she placed seventh at the national meet to earn First Team All-American honors.

JaMeesia Ford and Cynteria James each punched two individual tickets on the afternoon, doing so in the 100m and the 200m. Ford was able to run a new wind-aided program record in the 100m, crossing the finish line in 11.00 (2.3) for the third fastest time in the event. James was right on her heels with a time of 11.07 (2.3) to finish sixth at the regional meet. The duo then returned in the 200m to earn automatic qualifying times. Ford ran the fastest 200m of the regional, coasting to a 22.27 (1.4) to win her heat, while James ran a new personal best time of 22.72 (0.4) to finish third in her heat.

Salma Elbadra was the first Gamecock on the track to punch her ticket as she did so in the 1500m. The Morocco native ran 4:08.35, cruising to a third-place finish in the heat to earn the automatic qualifying spot. Zaya Akins locked in her ticket to nationals in the 400m after she ran 51.77 to finish third in the third and final heat. Jayla Jamison also punched a trip to Hayward Field in the 200m after clocking a new season best time of 22.77 (0.7) to win her heat.

The Gamecock relays continued their momentum from the SEC Outdoor Championship and posted convincing performances as they head to the NCAA Championship. The 4×100 meter relay of Jamison, James, Akins and Ford won the third and final heat after running 42.81 for the second fastest time in the field. The 4x400m squad of Akins, James, Sylvia Chelangat and Ford then closed the meet with a time of 3:27.56 to win the second heat, stamping their place in the coveted relay championship.

The Gamecocks will now have one final week of preparation before the NCAA Outdoor Championship at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The four-day meet will begin on Wednesday, June 11 and will conclude on Saturday, June 14.

Women’s Individual Results
100 Meters (Quarterfinals)
3. JaMeesia Ford – 11.00Q* (2.3)
6. Cynteria James – 11.07Q (2.3)

200 Meters (Quarterfinals)
1. JaMeesia Ford – 22.27Q (1.4)
5. Cynteria James – 22.72Q* (0.4)
6. Jayla Jamison – 22.77Q (0.7)

400 Meters (Quarterfinals)
10. Zaya Akins – 51.77Q

1500 Meters (Quarterfinals)
8. Salma Elbadra – 4:08.35Q

4×100 Meter Relay (Quarterfinals)
2. Jamison, James, Akins, Ford – 42.81Q

4×400 Meter Relay (Quarterfinals)
2. Akins, James, Chelangat, Ford – 3:27.56Q

3000 Meter Steeplechase (Quarterfinals)
12. Teresa Cherotich – 10:02.90

Triple Jump
7. Cameran Gist – 13.07m/42-10.75q* (1.1)

High Jump
1. Cheyla Scott – 1.82m/5-11.5q

* – denotes outdoor PR

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rutgers track and field set records at the 2025 NCAA East First Round, qualifying the most competitors – eight – for NCAA Championships in program history, while also adding a pair of school records.
 
It marks the fourth consecutive year that Rutgers will send competitors from both the men’s and women’s team to the outdoor championships. The eight Scarlet Knights in seven events is the most all-time and best mark since 2018 when RU qualified  five competitors in four events.
 
“I’ve never been prouder of a group of athletes,” said Bobby Farrell, director of track and field & cross country. “This was an unbelievable week of performances. They overcame weather delays, 95 degree temperatures and competing at midnight due to the delays. None of that affected their focus and drive. We came to compete.”
 
A Scarlet Knight will compete in three events on the track with Charlee Crawford, Chris Serrao and Bryce Tucker advancing in their respective events.
 
Crawford broke the women’s 400-meter record twice on her way to earning a trip to the NCAA Championships. She broke a 42-year-old record set by Lori McCauley in 1983 in the first round on Thursday, running 52.18. Crawford then improved on that time in the quarterfinals to set the record two days later with a time of 51.80.
 
Serrao also added a school record, breaking another four-decade old time, in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. He ran a time of 13.49 to top the time previously set by Eugene Norman in 1984. Tucker ran 50.00 in the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles to seal his spot at the NCAA Championships.
 
Rutgers secured a qualifier on the first day of competition at the NCAA East First Round with Steve Coponi advancing in the javelin. Coponi recorded a throw of 69.87m (229′ 2″) to make his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
 
Reigning national champion Chloe Timberg will return to the Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Championships with a chance to defend her pole vault title after posting a qualifying height of 4.24m (13′ 11″). The Scarlet Knights will send a total of three pole vaulters to the nation finals with Nico Morales and Kevin O’Sullivan making their debut on the men’s side. Morales and O’Sullivan cleared identical heights of 5.33m (17′ 5.75″) to qualify for their first NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
Paige Floriea will make NCAA Championships debut in her first season with the Scarlet Knights after posting a qualifying mark of 6.22m (20′ 5″) in the long jump.
 
The 2025 NCAA Championships will run from Wednesday, June 11 through Saturday, June 14 at Hayward Field. Full schedule of Events.
 

Turner, who broke the school record in the opening round Thursday, placed seventh in her heat and 16th overall out of 24 competitors. Her heat featured one of the fastest marks of the day, as UCLA’s Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck posted a winning time of 12.82 seconds.

Although Turner did not advance to nationals, her performance continues a season of record-setting success for the Beach.

Long Beach State will be represented by three student-athletes at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held June 11–14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Tristyn Flores punched his ticket to nationals in both the 100 and 200 meters, breaking the program record in the 100 and tying the record in the 200 during regional competition.

Flores will be joined by multi athletes Ryan Gregory (decathlon) and Claudine Raud-Gumiel (heptathlon), both of whom qualified earlier this spring.

Schedule at Nationals:

• 100m Semifinals: Wednesday, June 11 at 5:25 p.m. PDT
• 200m Semifinals: Wednesday, June 11 at 6:29 p.m. PDT
• Decathlon: June 11–12
• Heptathlon: June 13–14

Live coverage will be available on the ESPN family of networks.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. – Southeast Missouri track & field wrapped up the NCAA West Preliminary meet with Brianna Dixon competing in the high jump.

During the last day of competition Brianna Dixon cleared a height of 5′ 9.25″ for 29th place, her second best jump of the year. 

Looking Ahead

Paden Lewis and Luke Hatfield Jackson will travel to Eugene Oregon, Jun 11 (Wed) through Jun 14 (Sat) to compete in the 2025 NCAA Outdoor track & field Championships.

The residence halls become dim as public health student, Leila Morrow, is on the last stretch of studying. Thoughts slow as she tries to recall every term for the tests lined up the next day, but she can’t sit at her desk any longer. Needing a break, Morrow steps out of her residence hall for a breath of fresh air in the late night. She heads for a walk along the well-lit campus as a way to take her mind off the piling stress. 

Walking a long campus, trips to the Recreation Center, journaling and connecting with friends, students are scrambling to find ways to manage the recurring midterms and final exams approaching. 

Academic stress may be the single most dominant factor that affects the mental well-being of college students, according to a 2022 review published in Frontiers in Psychology. For many Cal Poly students, that stress peaks around midterms.

“It’s just so much information to obtain in such little time,” Ayumi Sandez, microbiology freshman said. “Once one midterm starts, the second midterm is already coming up and you’re just stressed for the rest of the quarter.”

However, Cal Poly students are not facing this alone–therapy dogs, yoga, meditation workshops and planting activities are just some of the ways the university is offering support.

“We wanted to reach a wider range of students and support them in their wellness in different ways that are not necessarily limited to the Recreation Center,” Ella Boladian, kinesiology senior and Wellness Student Assistant, said.

Starting off exam season, on Monday, Apr. 28, students gathered in Studio 2 at the recreation center for an evening of guided yoga, meditation and journaling, led by instructor Kate Berman. 

Students are guided through yin yoga movements and journaling prompts as a way to calm the nervous system from outside distractions.  

“There are so many demands placed on college students, from their coursework, their jobs, their professors, themselves and their parents,” Berman said, describing why students might have a highly activated nervous system

According to Berman, yin yoga activates the vagus nerve, a part of the parasympathetic nervous system that helps slow heart rate and calm the body. In other words, it’s a way to shift students out of fight-or-flight mode and lower stress hormones.

Often, students leave the class transformed, Berman said. 

“At the beginning, I tend to witness a little bit of restlessness and maybe discomfort,” Berman said. “Towards the end, I see people really leaving a state of, like, kind of more calm and just slow.”

Since rebuilding the Cal Poly Wellness program for its first fully scheduled quarter this Spring, this relief is the kind of outcome the wellness events are designed to foster, Ella Boladian, Wellness student assistant said. 

“That’s all we really want, is just to promote wellness and give students events that they would enjoy,” Boladian said.

After partaking in the guided yoga, meditation and journaling event, Boladian said she noticed people walk out of the studio happy and smiling–an indication of the event’s success

Just outside, students can find more support on the Health and Wellness Lawn, where therapy dogs are brought in at least twice a month.  On schedule for midterms, dogs visited the Sequoia Lawn on Thursday from noon to 2 p.m..

During exam weeks is when the campus demands for therapy dogs are highest, according to Denise Fitzgerald, a volunteer with Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

Fitzgerald has been organizing visits to Cal Poly since 2008 and has seen firsthand the emotional relief these dogs provide – so much so that she recalled a student who, years later, recognized a therapy dog named Tucker at the park and credited him with helping her get through finals.

“There’s something about the human and dog bond,” Fitzgerald said. “Just being able to sit and pet a dog and sometimes just quietly, helps people just kind of forget about some of the stressful times that they may be going through.”

Beyond the organized support, students are finding their own ways to navigate midterms. This includes other types of physical activity and ways of coming together. 

“I like to take walks, especially night walks, or go to the Recreation Center,” public health freshman Leila Morrow said. “Other than that, I like to journal.” 

She also attends Panhellenic-organized study groups, which help her feel less alone during midterms, she said. This is something she hopes to see more of during exam weeks. 

“It’d be nice to see more community-driven study sessions. It’s kind of an intimidating thing to just get a group going in the first place, especially if it’s huge lecture halls,” Morrow said.

Jess Alvear, a political science and Spanish sophomore, balances two majors and a campus job–a combination that limits her time, adding to her stress.  

“I notice I’m either up late or squeezing in study time between classes. I think taking advantage of the short periods I have of free time during the day can kind of relieve my stress,” Alvear said. She spends this time staying connected, whether it’s calling home or spending time with friends, she said. 

“It just kind of helps me to relieve my stress a little bit if I share it with other people and we can kind of bond because I feel like it’s something everyone is going through,” Alvear said.

As midterms stretch on and students juggle jobs, the pressure continues, but so does the support. Whether it’s through a quiet yoga session, a call home or a few calming minutes with a therapy dog, students can find ways to reset.

For students like Leila Morrow, sometimes all it takes is fresh air and a walk in the calm night to reset and refocus before returning to a night of studying.