Four Mountaineers have qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, as announced on the NCAA website on Thursday. Senior Jada Branch and juniors Calbert Guest, Chris Wainscott, and Niejel Wilkins have been accepted into the competition.

The NCAA East Preliminary Round will be hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 24-27. All four days of competition will be available to stream on ESPN+.

Wainscott will compete in the men’s shot put, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24. The Indianapolis, Ind. native ranks 40th in the East Prelim qualifying list with a toss of 17.95m (58′ 10.75″), which he recorded at the Georgia Tech Invitational (April 21-22). Wainscott also stands third in the App State all-time list in the men’s shot put category. The current school record is 19.32m (63′ 1.5″), set in 2007 by Anthony Greer.

Guest and Wilkins will compete on Friday, May 26. Guest will race in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at 5:40 p.m. The Fort Collins, Colo. native clinched gold and first-team All-SBC honors for his performance at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, where he recorded a personal best of 8:54.06 in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. He enters the competition ranked 42nd in the East Prelim qualifying list. He ranks fourth in the App State all-time list for the event. The current App State record is 8:51.28, set in 2022 by Ryan Brown. Guest will mark the 13th occasion an App State athlete has competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the postseason.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Wilkins will compete in the men’s triple jump. The Kinston, N.C. native earned bronze and third-team all-conference accolades at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships with a leap of 15.15m (49′ 8.5″). Wilkins ranks 45th in the East Prelim qualifying list with a mark of 15.31m (50′ 2.75″), which was recorded at the App State Open (April 28-29). He ranks ninth in the App State all-time list in the men’s triple jump category. The current program record is 16.67m (54′ 8.5″), set in 1988 by Warren Posey, father of current App State women’s jumper Jazmine Posey.

Branch will close out competition at the East Prelim for the Mountaineers on Saturday. She will compete in the women’s triple jump at 6 p.m. The Stafford, Va. native earned bronze and third-team all-conference honors for her performance at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, where she recorded a mark of 12.86m (42′ 2.25″). Branch ranks eighth in the East Prelim qualifying list with a leap of 13.35m (43′ 9.75″) +2.5 wind, which she recorded at the App State Open (April 28-29). In the App State all-time list, she ranks third in the women’s triple jump category with a leap of 13.13m (43′ 1″). The App State record is 13.18m (43′ 3″), set by Ronda White in 2003.

Twelve competitors for each individual event and twelve teams from each relay event from the East Preliminary will advance to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Championships will be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on June 7-10.