LAKE CHARLES – Three McNeese track and field student-athletes will be taking one step closer to the NCAA Championships when they compete at the NCAA Track and Field East First Round May 24-27 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
 
Cowboy javelin thrower Hunter Longino will join Cowgirl javelin thrower Blanche Beard and hammer participant Mariah Lee with a chance to qualify to the NCAA Championships in early June in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Longino will be the first in action on Wednesday, May 24 at 12:30 p.m. CT. Both Lee and Beard will compete on Thursday, May 25 with Lee starting at 9 a.m. CT and Beard to follow at 12:30 p.m.
 
All the days' events will stream live on ESPN Plus.
 
All three competitors won gold medals in their respective events at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships two weeks ago.
 
Longino is ranked No. 40 in the East Region with a season-best throw of 214'5" that he marked at the Cowboy Relays in early March. In eight meets on the season, he's surpassed 200-feet four times, including in each of the last three competitions. He's placed first four times on the season with two other top five finishes.
 
Having missed the 2022 season due to an injury, Longino will be looking to make a return to the NCAA Championships after he earned NCAA All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2021 where he finished 23^rd at the NCAA Championships as a freshman thrower.
 
Beard is returning to the East First Round for the second straight year with a regional ranking of 40. The junior dominated the outdoor season in her event with three first place finishes, two second places and one third. Her gold medal throw at the SLC Championships of 151'4" was a season-best.
 
At the 2022 East First Round meet, she finished 35^th with a throw of 144'7".
 
Lee qualified in the women's hammer throw by ranking 35^th in the East Region. The junior thrower is making her first appearance in the postseason after a stellar outdoor year that saw her capture four first places and two others in the top five in seven meets competed.
 
She threw the second-long hammer in school history at the SLC Championships with a mark of 196'8" and winning gold by 30 feet.