FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's track and field teams will be well represented at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Championships.

On Thursday, the NCAA released the declarations for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary, which will be held May 25-27 in Lexington, Ky., on the campus of the University of Kentucky. Mason will send 14 student-athletes to the regional with 10 men and four women.

On the men's side, the Patriots will be represented Steven Flynn (5,000 meters), Rico Gomez (400 meters), Paul Adam (3,000-meter steeplechase), Raeshawn Bishop (triple jump), Bernard Freeman (200-meter dash) and both the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay teams. The participating members and alternate of both relay teams will be finalized next week.

Competing for the women will be Michelle Wallerstedt (discus), Sarah Moore (400 meters), Ashley Lewis (800 meters) and Sommer Sharpe (400-meter hurdles). The large contingency of Patriots at the NCAA East Preliminary marks the most for the men and women's team in two years.

The top 48 individuals – and top 24 relays – in the East region qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary. The top 12 finishers in each individual event and relay at the East and West preliminaries advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 7-10 in Eugene, Ore.

Flynn makes his third straight trip to the NCAA East Preliminary. The redshirt senior ran 13:57.79 – just two seconds off his school record – in the 5,000-meter run at the Penn Relays last month. He also won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship for the second consecutive year. The native of Edison, N.J., is hoping to finish in the top 12 in order to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship for the second straight season.

Freeman also makes his third straight trip to an NCAA regional. The senior sprinter from Raleigh, N.C., will compete in the 200-meter dash and most likely will be a member of the relay teams. His time of 21.01 at the Gamecock Invitational in April cemented his spot in the regional. He also won four gold medals at the A-10 Championships (100, 200, 4x100 and 4x400) and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Track Performer.

Gomez makes his first NCAA appearance. The sophomore from Upper Marlboro, Md., won the 400-meter dash at the Atlantic 10 Championships two weeks ago with a personal-best time of 46.80. Gomez is also expected to participate in the relays.

Adam stormed into his first NCAA East Preliminary thanks to a school-record performance at the A-10 Championships. The redshirt sophomore from Mechanicsburg, Va., ran 9:03.42 to capture the gold medal and break a 36-year-old school record. His time eclipsed Jon Babcock's time of 9:03.80 set in 1981.

Bishop will also make his first NCAA appearance. He'll compete in the triple jump after qualifying with a leap of 15.37 meters (50 feet, 5 ¼ inches) at the IC4A Championships last weekend. The junior from Louisa County, Va., swept the A-10 triple jump titles in indoor and outdoor track.

The 4x100-meter relay team is seeded 19th in the region, posting its best time of the season at the Gamecock Invitational in April with a time of 40.06 to finish second. The 4x400-meter relay is slotted at 22nd after winning gold at the IC4A Championships last weekend with a time of 3:09.06.

Wallerstedt is the NCAA veteran of the women's team, making her third appearance at the East Preliminary. But this is her first trip since 2015 as she redshirted last season. The redshirt senior from Omaha, Neb., broke the school record earlier in the season and has won eight of the nine discus competitions she has participated in this year. Her toss of 53.84 meters (176 feet, 8 inches) at the A-10 Championships broke her school record and set the A-10 mark.

Moore makes her first appearance at the NCAA East Preliminary in the 400-meter dash. Moore, a native of Silver Spring, Md., ran 53.70 to win gold at the A-10 Championships. She was also a member of the gold-medal winning and A-10 record-setting 4x400-meter relay team  and took bronze in the 200-meter dash.

Lewis makes her first NCAA appearance in the 800-meter run. The Boston native won gold in the 800 at the A-10 Championships with a personal-best time of 2:07.67. She also grabbed a silver medal as a member of the 4x800-meter relay team.

Sharpe qualified for the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA East Preliminary for the second straight season. The junior from Pickering, Ontario, ran a personal-best time of 59.31 at the A-10 Championships to win gold. She also joined Moore on the record-setting 4x400-meter relay team.

NCAA East Preliminary Championships
May 25-27
Lexington, Ky. (University of Kentucky)
George Mason Qualifiers
(Region seed and time)

MEN
200 Meters
41. Bernard Freeman (21.01)
400 Meters
27. Rico Gomez (46.80)
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
44. Paul Adam (09:03.42)
5,000 Meters
16. Steven Flynn (13:57.79)
Triple Jump
45. Raeshawn Bishop (15.37 meters)
4x100-Meter Relay
19. 40.06
4x400-Meter Relay
22. 3:09.06

WOMEN
400 Meters
37. Sarah Moore (53.70)
800 Meters
37. Ashley Lewis (2:07.67)
400-Meter Hurdles
37. Sommer Sharpe (59.31)
Discus
15. Michelle Wallerstedt (53.84 meters)