BALTIMORE – Coppin State's
Carl Drakes, Jarrett Gentles, Jeff Hammond and
Solomon Hammond earned NCAA East Preliminary Qualifying spots in their respective events; it was announced by the NCAA on Thursday afternoon. The East Region Preliminary Rounds are set March 28-31 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., on the campus of the University of North Florida, with the men's events being held on Wednesday and Friday night.
Fans can watch all four days of the East Preliminaries on ESPN+ and live results can be found
here.
A senior from Saint Lucia, Drakes earned his spots in both the 100m and 200m dash with qualifying times of 10.25 and 20.72, respectively. Drakes clocked his PR in the 100m at the MEAC Championships while his 200m time was ran at the Aggie Classic on May 2. This is Drakes' second appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries after running on the qualifying 4x100m Relay last season.
Solomon Hammond will join him in the 100m dash after winning the MEAC Championship in the event in a time of 10.14. A senior from Ghana, Hammond ran in both the 100m dash and 4x100m Relay at last season's NCAA East Regional.
The First Round of the 100m dash will be contested at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 28 with the 200m dash set for 8:45 pm that night. Should either advance to the Quarterfinals, the 100m dash will be run at 6:35 pm on Friday, May 30, with the 200m dash set for 7:50 pm that night.
Making his first-ever NCAA East Regional appearance, Gentles qualified in the 400m hurdles after winning the event at the Aggie Classic in a personal record 50.59. A senior from Newark, N.J., Gentles ranks third in CSU history in the event behind All-Americans Jibri Victorian (50.10) and Steve Delice (50.25).
The First Round of the 400m Hurdles is set for 8:20 pm on Wednesday, May 28 with the Quarterfinals slated for 7:25 on Friday, May 30.
Returning to the NCAA Preliminaries for the first time since 2023,
Jeff Hammond qualified with a leap of 7.65m (25' 1.25") to finish second at the MEAC Championship. A senior from Kumasi, Ghana, Hammond owns a wind-legal personal record of 7.67m (25' 2") in the long jump from the 2023 South Florida Invitational.
The long jump will be contested on Wednesday, May 28 at 4:30 pm.
