T&F Punches Four Tickets To NCAAs

Saturday, May 30

Lexington, Ky.

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA East Preliminary Round

Paige, Sjoberg, Mascarelli and Brown pose with Tickets

May 30, 2026 | Track & Field

LEXINGTON, KY - Carolina track and field closed out the NCAA East First Round by qualifying four athletes for the national championship.

The women's team is sending six women to the national championships, the largest number since 2011. This is the first since 2010-11 that Carolina has sent at least four women in back-to-back years.

The first athlete to punch her ticket was Sydney Masciarelli, who became the first women's 3,000m steeplechaser to go back-to-back since Cassie King in 2005 and 2006. Mascarelli shattered her school record by 8.61 seconds, marking the second time she broke it at the East Regional. Mascarelli finished as the East Region champion, running the fastest time from both heats.

Makayla Paige was also crowned regional champion, winning the women's 800m. Paige punched her ticket to the national championships for the third season in a row, a feat not achieved by a women's 800m runner since Georgia Kloss from 2005-07.

Brynn Brown and Vera Sjoberg both punched their tickets to the national championships in the 5,000m. The last time Carolina sent athletes in the women's 5,000m was Morgan Ilse in 2018, and has never sent two runners in the championships. Brown qualified for the national championship for the first time in her career and Sjoberg is going for the second straight year.