Western Kentucky graduate senior Kaison Barton set a new school record in the men's hammer throw Friday in the Brent Chumbley Memorial Hilltopper Relays at the Charles M. Ruter Track and Field Complex. (WKU ATHLETICS)

Four athletes from the Western Kentucky men’s track and field team have qualified for East Preliminaries, the NCAA announced on Friday.

Kaison Barton, Kameron Horton, Van Thrasher and Sterling Weldon will be the four athletes representing the Hilltoppers at the NCAA East Regional, May 28-31, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Barton will compete in the hammer throw, Horton will compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, Thrasher will compete in the 110-meter hurdles, and Weldon will compete in the long jump.

This marks the first appearance for Barton. The native of Semmes, Alabama, holds the school record in the hammer throw which he set at the Brent Chumbley Memorial Hilltopper Relays in late March. His throw of 209 feet, 7 inches stands at No. 32 in the NCAA East Region.

For Horton, this is the second year the sophomore from Louisville has qualified for the preliminary rounds of NCAAs. Last season, he competed in the 100, becoming the first to do so for WKU since 2018. This year his mark in the 100 is No. 47 in the East Region, set at the Conference USA Championships, while his mark in the 200 stands at No. 15 in the region.

The occasion marks the first for Thrasher, who came to WKU from Campbellsville. While there, he qualified for NAIA National Championships three times. His time in the 110-hurdles stands at No. 41 in the region.

Weldon becomes the second freshman to qualify for WKU in as many years. His personal best of 7.62 meters in the long jump set at the CUSA Championships stands at No. 34 in the East qualifying region.

All four Hilltoppers are set to compete on Wednesday. Barton will compete at 9 a.m. CT, Horton will compete at 6 and 7:45 p.m., Thrasher will compete at 5 p.m., and Weldon will compete at 3:30 p.m.

The qualifiers out of the East and West regions will compete at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships held June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.