MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four members of the West Virginia University track and field team have qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round, from May 27-29, in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
Redshirt junior Hayley Jackson (1,500 meters), junior Katherine Dowie and redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe (3,000 meter steeplechase), as well as junior Peter-Gay McKenzie (long jump) all ranked in the top 48 of the NCAA East Region in their respective events.
 
Jackson who last ran in the 2019 East Prelims is set to make her second career appearance, while Dowie, McCabe and McKenzie will make their regional debut.
 
McCabe enters the event ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 30 nationally in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a top time of 9:58.62 at the Mountaineer Twilight, on May 1, in Morgantown, West Virginia. The time was good for an outdoor school record. 
 
The Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada native, is coming off of a first-place, gold medal performance at the 2021 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship, on May 15, in Manhattan Kansas. McCabe's winning time of 10:08.69 ranks fifth-place in outdoor program history.
 
Dowie ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and No. 68 in the nation. The Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia native qualified for this year's regional meet after recording a season-best time of 10:15.75 at the Mountaineer Twilight, on May 1, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
 
Last week, at the Big 12 Championship, Dowie had an All-Big 12 performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a fifth place finish in 10:32.23. 
 
Jackson ran a season-best time of 4:21.92 in the 1,500 meters at the EKU Twilight, on April 16, in Richmond, Kentucky good for No. 7 in the Big 12. 

The Lusby, Maryland native had an All-Big 12 performance and a seventh-place podium finish in the 1,500-meter race (4:32.33) at the Big 12 Championship.

McKenzie is set to compete in the long jump competition in Jacksonville. The Clarendon, Jamaica native tallied a career-best mark 6.14 meters in the event at the Virginia Challenge on April 16, earning a sixth-place finish. The distance ranks No. 16 in the Big 12 and No. 42 in the region entering the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
 
This year's NCAA East Preliminary Round is hosted by North Florida and the Jacksonville Sports Authority. The three-day competition will take place at UNF's Hodges Stadium.
 
For each individual event contested at each of the preliminary sites, the top-48 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top-24 declared relay teams were accepted into the competition. Combined events (heptathlon and decathlon) are not contested at the preliminary sites.
 
Qualifiers out of the East and West Regions who place in the top 12 in their events will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, from June 9-12, in Eugene, Oregon.
 
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