Competition for the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships First Round will begin as five Tulane University athletes travel to Lexington, Kentucky, for the four-day east regional hosted by the University of Kentucky at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex. Representing Tulane are Cara Salsberry and Blezzin Kimutai on the women’s side, with Silas Kiptanui, Tommy Rice, and Rogerio Amaral competing on the men’s side.
The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships start with two first round regionals—east and west. The top 48 declared student-athletes in each individual event have advanced to this stage along with the top 24 relay teams. The competition opens Wednesday, May 26, with Amaral and Rice running in the men’s 10,000 meters at 8:10 p.m. CT. On Thursday, Salsberry competes in the women’s hammer throw at 9:00 a.m. CT while Kimutai races in the women’s 10,000 meters at 8:10 p.m. CT. Friday features Kiptanui in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase at 4:40 p.m. CT; he is also noted as American Conference champion in that event.
Salsberry is entered as Tulane’s only field competitor and will participate in both hammer throw—where she holds a program record of 59.54 meters—and discus (51.75 meters), both marks placing her within qualifying range for this regional meet after earning bronze medals at conference championships earlier this month. Kimutai enters ranked twenty-eighth regionally after setting a school record of 33:28.35 earlier this year.
On the men’s side, Kiptanui’s time of 8:25.16 ranks fourth-best among east regional competitors and fifth overall nationally; he also holds Tulane’s program record for that event after winning golds in both steeplechase and five thousand meters during conference championships this season. Amaral (29:10.35) and Rice (29:12.80) qualified for their events based on performances from earlier meets.
This marks Tulane’s fourth consecutive year sending athletes to compete at an east regional meet; Kiptanui returns to defend his third-place finish from last season’s steeplechase, where he later finished tenth nationally.
