And then there were four.
Out of the 25 Quakers who qualified to compete in the NCAA East Preliminaries hosted in Lexington, Ky., four were able to secure their spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
In a meet which featured over 30 events in just four days, the Red and Blue were well represented, being entered in 20 total events on the men’s and women’s sides.
On the second day of the prelims and the first day of women’s competition, rising sophomore thrower Jessica Oji became the first Quaker to punch her ticket to Nationals.
After taking home gold in the shot put in the 2026 Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Oji wasted no time asserting her dominance on the field with an 18.26-meter lob on her first attempt of three.
Despite being outseeded by Auburn’s Megan Hague, no other competitor was able to match Oji for the rest of the competition, thus securing a regional title and a trip to Eugene, Ore. With this performance, Oji became the only Quaker to make nationals in both the 2026 outdoor season and the 2026 indoor season.
Lily Murphy competing at the Ivy Heptagonal Indoor Championships on Feb 28, 2026.
RELATED:
Quakers score titles, break records at Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships
Quakers shine in field events as more records fall to close 130th Penn Relays
In the 10-kilometer semifinal that capped off the second day of competition, another Quaker secured her second nationals bid. In the longest track event of the meet, 2026 College graduate and distance specialist Lily Murphy finished fifth overall in a race that was anything but run-of-the-mill.
From the start, New Hampshire’s Ruth White darted ahead of the field for a lead of over 100 meters in the first mile. She looked to lead from gun to tape, a strategy rarely used in an event of this distance. But Murphy had other plans. Running in the top pack, the Summit, N.J. native hunted her down and made up the gap by the halfway point of the race. Murphy finished behind Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi, who broke the meet record with a 32:31 finish, in a speedy 32:53 — two seconds off her all-time personal best and the program record.
The first day of competition on the men’s side was filled with heartbreak as most Penn athletes failed to qualify for the quarterfinals of their respective events.
In the 400-meter run, rising senior sprinter Nayyir Newash-Campbell was set to face off against some of the strongest sprinters in the nation in the final heat of the first round. After the program record holder in the 400 failed to qualify for the final at the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championships earlier this season, Newash-Campbell had his eyes set on making it to the quarter-finals for the second time in his career.
Although Newash-Campbell kept up with Georgia’s Jonathan Simms through the first 300 meters, the Plainfield, Ind. native could not match the kick of the others in his heat during the final straightaway, barely missing the qualifying bubble.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, Newash-Campbell wasn’t the only one who didn’t advance. Six other Penn athletes across a variety of events, from hurdles to javelin, didn’t make it past the first round. After most of the Penn men who competed on the first day were knocked out, the Quakers had one last shot to make some noise: the 400-meter hurdles.
After Outdoor Heps bronze medalist and rising senior hurdler Alex Sadikov finished 6th in his heat, all eyes were on fellow rising senior hurdler and three-time Ivy League champion Ryan Matulonis. Matulonis entered the NCAA East Regional as the Quakers’ highest-seeded male athlete, ranking fifth in the region and eighth nationally at the time of competition. The expectations were high for the Scotch Plains, N.J. native — and he met them.
Starting in lane six, Matulonis quickly made up the stagger, propelling himself to the lead. With 100 meters to go, it was a three-man race between Alabama’s David Thid, North Carolina A&T’s Isaiah Taylor, and Matulonis. In a display of grit and perseverance, Matulonis grinded it out to finish with a time of 49.46, the third fastest time of the first round, to win his heat. He was set for the quarterfinals.
During the third day of Regionals, two more Penn athletes punched their tickets to Nationals.
2026 Wharton graduate and standout high jumper Kampton Kam was the first of the men to qualify. The Indoor Heps high jump champion and Outdoor Heps silver medalist is no stranger to national competition, with this being his third NCAA East preliminaries in the last three seasons. Although his sophomore season ended at prelims in 2024, Kam became a first-team All-American at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships a year later. Now, he had the opportunity to go back to back.
After clearing 2.06 meters and 2.11 meters on his first attempts, the Singaporean secured his qualifying position on the second attempt at the 2.16-meter bar. Although Kam entered the event ranked 11th in the East region in the high jump, he ultimately finished in the top five.
With Matulonis as the only track athlete on the men’s side to make it past the first round, the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals were Penn’s only hope of sending a male track athlete to Eugene, Ore.
Having made the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both 2024 and 2025, Matulonis had the opportunity to go to Heyward Field for the third year in a row. With a trip to the biggest stage in collegiate track and field on the line, what did the Scotch Plains, N.J. native do? He dropped a personal best of 49.25 en route to a second-place finish in his heat, automatically qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Although only four Quakers made it to nationals, several others put on stellar performances at the prelims.
Rising sophomore Jailyn Milord did not make it past the first round of the women’s 400 meters, but she set a personal best in the event, running a blazing 52.73. The Wellington, Fla. native finished 33rd overall in the first round after being ranked 54th in the region.
Rising senior multis/hurdles specialist Amelia Kristen also showed out in the 400-meter hurdles. In her first NCAA East preliminaries, Kristen ran a 57.98 in the first round, her second-fastest time ever in the 400 hurdles. The time was good enough to send her to the quarterfinals of the event. Even though her season would end there, Kristen’s performances at the regional stage did not go unnoticed.
Although this marked the end of the season for the vast majority of the Quakers, four will finish their collegiate seasons at Heyward Field. Murphy, Oji, Kam, and Matulonis will be representing the Red and Blue at the NCAA Outdoor Championships from June 10-13.
