Four UMBC men's and women's track and field student-athletes will compete at the NCAA East Regionals May 28 -31 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Sophomore Alpha Balde, junior Iosif Papa, and junior Toren Burr will represent the men, while sophomore Genelle Stephens qualified on the women's side.

Balde qualified for the event in the 100 (ranked 32nd) and 200 meters (ranked 20th). Balde won the 200 meters at the 2025 America East Championships with a time of 20.81 and then captured the IC4A crown with a new school-record time of 20.46. He was the runner-up in the 100 meters with a time of 10.53 at the America East Championships. Balde's top time this spring was 10.20, which was set at the George Mason Ebanks Invitational in April.

Papa is ranked 13th in the discus with a throw of 59.12 meters (193'11), which occurred at the Maryland Invitational. He won the 2025 America East Championship (56.65 meters, 185'10) and then took the gold medal in the event (54.38 meters, 178-05) at the IC4A Championships.

Burr is ranked 45th in the javelin after his toss of 63.07 meters (206'11") at the Virginia Challenge in April. He was the runner-up at the 2025 America East Championships this past season with an effort of 60.77 meters (199-04).

Stephens is ranked 44th in the 400-meter hurdles after her gold medal performance of 58.86 at the 2025 America East Championships, her second straight championship in the event.

The quartet qualified for the event by placing among the top 48 in the east region in their individual events. The top 12 will advance to the NCAA finals in Eugene, Oregon, June 11-14, 2025. 

The complete list of participants is available on the following website.

For more information regarding the NCAA DI men's and women's outdoor track and field championships and to purchase tickets, log on to NCAA.com/trackandfield.