LEXINGTON, Kentucky—Zachaeus Beard keeps proving himself against the best in the nation.

The senior from Fellowship earned a berth in the regional finals in two events, as he aims to make it to nationals.

Beard ran a blistering 10.27 in the 100-meter dash and 20.72 in the 200-meter dash to earn his way to the regional final, which takes place Friday on the campus of the University of Kentucky.

In the 100, Beard finished fourth among the 48 participants, coming out of the inside lane. The top 24 advance to Friday, consisting of the top three times in all six heats, plus the next six fastest times.
That group will be cut down to a dozen Friday, and those 12 head to Eugene, Oregon, for nationals.

Beard came in third in the fifth heat, as three of the top four times in the event came from that heat.

In the 200, he sprinted his way to another event in the regional final, running a 20.72 to place 22^nd. Coming out of lane eight in the sixth and final heat.

While he didn't finish in the top three of his heat, he was one of the next six fastest times to clinch his spot in the finals.

Cyrus Jacobs ran a 21.06 in the 200 to place 37^th and missed the cut to advance. The cut-off time was 20.75.

"Zach had a tremendous day, advancing to Friday in two events and he will also be in the 4x100 as well," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "Even though he did not advance to Friday, I thought Cyrus still had a good day."

Alabama State's Jamarion Stubbs dominated the field, running a blazing 20.02, finishing just ahead of runners from Auburn and Alabama.

To begin the day, Andrew Gilreath posted a 23-8.75 in the long jump, placing 29^th out of the 48 competitors.

The junior nearly matched his 28^th-place finish from the 2023 NCAA East Regionals, when he posted a 23-10.

A'Nan Bridgett of Rutgers won the long jump with a distance of 25-5.5. The top Louisiana college distance was Grambling's James Brown, who felt good in posting a 24-11.75.

Djimon Gumbs tossed a 59-7.75 in the shot put to place 19^th. In the throws events, there is no advancing to Friday, and the top 12 head to nationals.

After fouling in his first attempt, he recorded his 59-7.75 in his second attempt, which moved him to 18^th, but was unable to improve upon that throw.

"I thought Djimon looked good in warm-ups," Heimerman said. "But he just didn't have it when it counted. Unfortunately, his shot put career ends for NSU like that. I just didn't do enough to help him today."

Ole' Miss' Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan won the shot put, recording a 65-10.25. Robinson-O'Hagan started a run of SEC athletes, as competitors from that conference took home the top four spots in the event.

The NSU women gets its turn tomorrow, as day one of the women's competition takes place in Kentucky. The NSU events start at 5 p.m. with the 100-meter hurdles.