University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
NCAA West Regionals
Four Bruins Advance on Day Two of NCAA Regionals
May 28, 2026 | Track & Field
Day 1 Recap
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. โ A quartet of Bruin runners advanced to NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday as the UCLA women got underway on day two of the NCAA West First Rounds at Arkansas's John McDonnell Field.
The UCLA women were competing in their first events on Thursday after the men got underway on Wednesday. The Bruin men were led by shot putter Xaver Hastenrath, who clinched a spot in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., as well as three a trio of runners who advanced to the quarterfinals round.
The Bruins' top performances on Thursday came courtesy of hurdler Celeste Polzonetti and sprinter Taylor Snaer.
Polzonetti was a standout in the 100m hurdles first round, winning her heat handily with a time of 12.80 to auto-qualify for quarterfinals. She set a PB in the process and jumped into a tie for No. 5 in school history in that event. The No. 2 finisher overall in qualifying, Polzonetti was just two-thousandths of a second behind Texas Tech's Symoria Adkins for the best time among all entrants.
Snaer double-advanced for UCLA, earning an auto-bid in the 200m (22.97) while also registered a little-q in the 100m (11.38).
In the 200m, Snaer was runner-up in her heat and seventh-place overall. The 22.97 was her second-fastest wind-legal time of the year in that event. In the 100m, she turned her third-fastest wind-legal time of the year to grab one of the six at-large bids into the QF round.
Upperclassman sprinters Naomi Johnson and Kapiolani Coleman also booked quarterfinal trips on Thursday.
Johnson snagged an auto-bid in the 400m dash after placing runner-up in her heat and 10th overall with a time of 52.10. It was her fourth-fastest time of the year.
Coleman was able to secure the final auto-bid in the 400m hurdles, placing third in her heat at 58.15.
All the advancing runners will compete for a spot in the NCAA Championships on Saturday.
Other Bruins to compete on Thursday who did not advance included Sydney Johnson (long jump), Kaho Cichon (1500m), Kayla McBride (400m), Ava Simms (400m), Marie Warneke (800m), Kaitlyn Arciaga (800m), Olivia Griffin (400m hurdles), Paige Sommers (pole vault), Paige Echsner (pole vault), and Olivia Foody (10k).
The meet reverts back to the men on Friday, with another set of field events and the track quarterfinal races on the docket. UCLA will have entries in the discus, high jump, triple jump, 400m dash, 400m hurdles, and 4x400 relay.
