University of Illinois
NCAA West Preliminaries
Graman, Yeboah Qualify to NCAA Outdoor Championships on NCAA West Prelims Final Day
May 30, 2026 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
RECAP
Full Results
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Illinois women's track and field team completed the NCAA West Preliminaries on Saturday (May 30) from John McDonnell Field. Katharina Graman (triple jump) and Rose Yeboah (high jump) both punched their tickets to the national meet today.
"I couldn't be prouder of how we handled this weekend," said director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou. "To send a school record 18 individual event qualifiers are exactly what we are striving for here and we're just getting started. Each year we send more and more athletes to the national meet which is a testament to the culture our athletes have been building. It's going to be a lot of fun in Eugene. I'm excited to see how our athletes compete and we're going to bring home some hardware."
Graman is the lone Illini to qualify in two events when she advanced in the triple jump today on the program's second-best mark, 13.88m (45-6 1/2). Earlier in the week she qualified in the long jump to become the first Illini woman to qualify in two events since Sophia Beckmon did so last year in the long jump and 4x100m.
Yeboah advanced to her third-consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships today when she cleared 1.87m (6-1 1/2) to place inside the top-12 and punch her ticket. Her previous two trips to Eugene, Ore. have been fruitful after she won the title in 2024 and was the national runner-up last season.
Illinois qualified 11 women to the NCAA Outdoor Championships which ties the program record set in 1995 and again in 1996. The men qualified seven which is their most since the 2015 team. The 18 individual event qualifiers combined between both teams is the program record. These historical numbers are for individual event qualifiers only and excludes counting members of relay teams.
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS
- Rose Yeboah – high jump, 1.87m (6-1 1/2)
- Katharina Graman – triple jump, 13.88m (45-6 1/2)
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue track and field squads set their sights on the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday-Saturday (June 10-13) in Eugene, Ore.
NOTES
- Siun Quinn placed 14th in the high jump, 1.84m (6-0 1/2)
- Emma Haeggblom placed 20th, 1.81m (5-11 1/4)
- Grace Kombetto placed 16th in the 800m (2:03.77)
- Kennady Anderson DNF 3000mS
