LAKE CHARLES – McNeese track and field will be represented in next week's NCAA East Preliminary Meet by five student-athletes competing in seven events as the field for the postseason has been finalized.
 
Alanna Arvie and Grace McKenzie will compete in two events – Arvie in the hammer and shot put while McKenzie will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump. Also for the Cowgirls, Malaiya Jedkins will participate in the triple jump.
 
On the men's side, Donavon Banks and Hunter Longino will throw in the javelin event.
 
A top 12 finish in an event will qualify for the NCAA Championships June 9-12 in Eugene, Oregon.
 
"We are definitely excited for them," said head coach Brendon Gilroy. "With the year we've had by missing the fall due to the pandemic and hurricanes, and then this spring being hit with an ice storm and floods, all of our student-athletes have battled through so much."
 
Arvie will enter the hammer throw ranked Nos. 21 in the region and 45^th in the shot put while McKenzie is 22^nd in the long jump and 39^th in the 400m hurdles. Jedkins is ranked 19^th in the triple jump.
 
McKenzie is ranked 13^th nationally in the heptathlon and automatically qualifies for the national meet. There's no preliminary competition for the heptathlon and instead, the top 24 ranked in the nation move on to the championships.
 
For the Cowboys, Banks is ranked No. 5 while Longino is 29^th in the javelin event.
 
The East Preliminary meet will get underway on Wednesday at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida and is hosted by the University of North Florida.