T&F: Kelley, Colbert Will Have Busy NCAA West Prelims

Wednesday, May 27

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Baylor

NCAA West Preliminary Rounds

T&F: Kelley, Colbert Will Have Busy NCAA West Prelims

5/23/2026 12:23:00 PM | Track & Field

Bears taking 25 entrants, including all four relays, to meet in Fayetteville

WACO, Texas – While sophomore heptathlete Logan Todorovich has already punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships next month in Eugene, Ore., Baylor will have 25 entrants for the NCAA West Prelims that will start Wednesday at John McDonnell Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.

Ranked ninth nationally in the heptathlon with a school-record 5,830 points, Todorovich is one of the 24 women heptathletes who earned direct entries to the NCAA Championship, bypassing the prelims.

In the declarations that were made official on Thursday, the 20^th-ranked Baylor women lead the way with 17 entrants for the NCAA West Prelims, including pole vaulters Molly Haywood, Tenly Kuhn and Alencia Lentz and Tiriah Kelley in the 100, 200, 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Kelley, who holds the indoor and outdoor school records in the 200 meters, is ranked fourth nationally and second in the NCAA West in the 200 (22.19) and 13^th in the West in the 100 meters (11.13). She also runs legs on the 4x100 (43.39) and 4x400 (3:32.58) relays that will try to earn their way to Eugene.

Baylor's pole-vaulting trio of Haywood (14-10 ¾), Kuhn (14-10 ¼) and Lentz (14-6 ¼) are all ranked in the top 12 in the West, with the top 12 finishers advancing through to the semifinals.

The Bears also have sophomore Janae De Gannes in the long jump and 100 meters, Royaltee Brown, Success Oyibu and Hannah Lowe in the 100 and 200 meters, Serafima Lucero in the 400-meter hurdles and Ruth Kimeli in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

De Gannes is ranked seventh in the West in the long jump (21-4 ¼) and is looking for a return trip to the NCAA Championship, where she finished 12^th a year ago. Lucero, who false-started at the Big 12 Championship, is ranked 10^th in the West in the 400 hurdles with a school-record time of 55.93.

Like Kelley on the women's side, fifth-year senior Laurenz Colbert will be busy at the NCAA West Prelims, entered in the 100 and 200 meters and 4x100 relay. Colbert is ranked sixth in the 200 meters with a 20.18-second time that he ran in finishing second at the Big 12 Championship.

The Baylor men's other biggest threats are Demario Prince in the 110-meter hurdles (13.14) and the men's 4x400 relay (3:02.90), which are both ranked third in the West. Aren Spencer, Malik Franklin, Bailey Hashmi and Tyler Honeyman improved their season PR by more than two full seconds in winning the Big 12 championship.

Colbert is joined by Austen Diggs, Ricquan Graham and Hashmi in the 4x100 relay (39.33), while the men also have Franklin and Spencer in the 400 meters and sophomore Parker Brannon in the pole vault (17-3).

Scheduled for alternating days, the men will compete on Wednesday and Friday and the women on Thursday and Saturday at the NCAA West Prelims.

The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be held June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

For the latest news on Baylor track and field all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.

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