Thames Books Ticket to Eugene at NCAA Nationals First Round

Wednesday, May 27

Fayetteville, Ark.

Southern Illinois University

NCAA West Regional

05/30/2026 | 11:25:00 | Track and Field

By: Peter Borkowski

LAFAYETTE, Ark. – The NCAA Track and Field West Regionals took place in Lafayette, Arkansas, this past weekend, and several Salukis were in attendance. The highlight of the weekend was Leah Thames, who not only broke her own school record but also secured her spot at NCAA Nationals.

"The Salukis represented at the highest level at First Round and showed the nation who we are," says Richard Jones, the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country. "We had a new school record by Leah Thames and she advances to the final round. The men's 4x4 ran a time that would have advanced but was unfortunately disqualified. Dallas Hodge represented the throws program at a high level and we look forward to seeing them return year bigger, better, and stronger."

How it Happened

Wednesday
Hodge was the first Saluki to take action in Lafayette in the men's hammer throw. Unfortunately, he was unable to record a throw that established a scoring distance, ending his run at the regional.

Next up was Kwame Smith in the men's 400-meter dash, whose time of 46.98 placed 40th overall. The first day wrapped with the men's 400-meter hurdles. Shane Ashton missed advancing to the next round by less than a second with his time of 51.05, good for 24th. Additionally, Jalen Dickerson came in 37th with a time of 51.67.

Thursday
On Thursday, it was Thames' time for action. She first competed in the 400-meter dash and broke her own school record in the event with a run of 51.54, placing her sixth and advancing her to the next round. Thames than ran in the 200-meter, recording a time of 23.23, which ranked 23.23 and pushed her to the next round.

Friday
Friday's slate of event's closed with the 4x400 relay, where SIU's team was unfortunately disqualified.

Saturday
Thames was back at it on Saturday. First up was the 400-meter dash quarterfinals, where she ran a 51.63 to take eighth place and book her ticket to Nationals in the event. She also competed in the 200-meter quarterfinals, but could not make the Nationals cut with her time of 23.19.

Up Next
SIU now prepares to send Thames to the NCAA Nationals, which are set for June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregan.

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