GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Seven Furman athletes will compete in eight events this week at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships East Preliminaries, which will be hosted by North Florida, May 28-31, at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Junior Carly Wilkes has qualified in the women's 5,000m and 10,000m, and senior Nicole Matysik will compete in the women's 3,000m Steeplechase.  On the men's side, senior Matthew Smith will run in the 800m, senior Dylan Schubert and junior Luke Taylor have qualified in the 10,000m, and seniors Carson Williams and Ethan Domitrovich will compete in the 3,000m Steeplechase.

Furman will kick off competition Wednesday with the first round of the men's 800m at 7:50 p.m.  The semifinals of the men's 10,000m will follow at 9:10 p.m.  The semifinal of the women's 10,000m is scheduled for Thursday at 9:10 p.m.  On Friday, the quarterfinals of the men's 3,000m Steeplechase will commence at 5:40 p.m. with quarterfinals of the men's 800m to follow at 7:05 p.m.  The women's 3,000m Steeplechase quarterfinals are slated for 5:40 p.m. and the women's 5,000m semifinals are set for Saturday at 8:10 p.m.

The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon, June 11-14.

Wilkes, a native of Salem, Va., qualified for her first NCAA East Preliminary.  She ranks 17th in the 10,000m after winning the event with a personal-best time of 33:20.08 at the Raleigh Relays.  Wilkes qualified in 31st place in the 5,000m with a PR of 15:54.45, which she posted at Wake Forest.

A native of Key West, Fla., Matysik is also making her first appearance at the preliminaries.  The two-time defending SoCon champion in the 3,000m Steeplechase, she ranks 35th in the event after recording a time of 10:16.36 at the Raleigh Relays.

Smith, who hails from Leesburg, Va., is making his second preliminary appearance in the 800m after placing 33rd in the event in 2022.  The reigning SoCon 800m champion, he established a new Furman program record with a time of 1:46.75 at the Wake Forest Invitational.  His time currently ranks tenth in the East.  Smith also qualified in the 1,500m but will focus his efforts on the 800m.

A native of Loveland, Colo., Schubert will compete in his third East preliminary and his second in the 10,000m.  He leads the East after winning the event with a new Paladin program record of 27:45.63 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.  Schubert took gold in the 5,000m with a new league record of 14:11.05 at the SoCon Outdoor Championship.

Taylor, a native of Rockville, Va., is appearing in his first NCAA East Preliminary.  He qualified 47th in the 10,000m after crossing the line with a PR of 28:53.36 at the Raleigh Relays.

Williams, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., is running in the 3,000m Steeplechase at NCAA East Preliminary for the fourth time in his career.  He advanced to the NCAA Championships in both 2022, when he placed fourth at the preliminaries, and in 2023, when he notched a third-place finish.  Williams went on to finish 11th in the NCAA finals in 2023.  The 2025 SoCon Champion, he qualified sixth with a time of 8:30.83, which he recorded at the Bryan Clay Invitational. 

Domitrovich, a native of McDonald, Ohio, is making his first appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries as a Furman athlete.  He qualified in 33rd place with a personal-best time of 8:48.20, which he recorded at the Payton Jordan Invitational.  At John Carroll, Domitrovich finished 12th at the NCAA Division III national championship last season and was sixth in 2023.  His best national finish came in 2022, when he took fourth place.  

Wednesday 
Men's 800m 1st Round - 7:50 p.m. – Matthew Smith
Men's 10,000m Semifinals – 9:10 p.m. – Dylan Schubert & Luke Taylor

Thursday
Women's 10,000m Semifinal – 9:10 p.m. – Carly Wilkes

Friday
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals – 5:40 p.m. – Carson Williams & Ethan Domitrovich
Men's 800m Quarterfinals – 7:05 p.m. – Matthew Smith if he advances

Saturday
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals – 5:40 p.m. – Nicole Matysik
Women's 5,000m Semifinals – 8:10 p.m. – Carly Wilkes