Providence College Athletics

Wednesday, May 27
Lexington, Ky.

Providence College

at

NCAA First Round

Cara Laverty at Friar Invitational

Men’s And Women’s Track To Run At NCAA First Round

5/26/2026 10:30:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Seven athletes will run on May 27-30 in Lexington, Ky.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field East Preliminary competitions are scheduled for May 27-30 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. The Providence College men's and women's track teams will have seven athletes (two men, five women) who qualified for the First Round competing in Lexington, Ky. The runners competing at the NCAA First Round will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Finals which will be held June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore. 

LIVE STREAM: https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/74d54e57-c7e6-38fd-9fe8-b98414ad0ea9/ncaa-track-field#bucketId=29779&sourceCollection=Browse_By_League
LIVE RESULTS: https://flashresults.ncaa.com/Outdoor/2026/FirstRounds/East/index.htm
SCHEDULE: https://friars.com/documents/2026/4/21/NCAA_First_Round_Track_and_Field_Schedule.pdf

On the women's side, junior Maeve O'Neill (Cork, Ireland) will lead the Friars in the 800 meters. O'Neill, a three-time All-American, most recently captured the 800-meter title and 4x800-meter relay title at the 2026 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the 800 meters, the junior broke her own school record of 2:02.22 with a time of 2:02.05. It also was a BIG EAST and facility record. In the 4x800 meters, the Friars captured the race in a time of 8:30.87, a program, BIG EAST and facility record. For her efforts, O'Neill was named BIG EAST Most Outstanding Female Track Performer.

Competing in the 5,000 meters will be sophomores Anna Gardiner (Downpatrick, Ireland) and Gabrielle Schmidt (Brisbane, Australia) and freshman Kate Currie (Christchurch, New Zealand). At the BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Gardiner won the 5,000-meter title in a time of 16:50.43 for her first-ever BIG EAST title. Currie finished sixth in the race in 17:11.38. Schmidt raced in the 10,000 meters and won her first BIG EAST title in 33:43.63, becoming the 10th Friar all-time to win the BIG EAST 10,000 meters. Gardiner has a personal-best time of 15:51.78 in the 5,000 meters while Schmidt holds a 15:55.97 and Currie owns a 16:00.31. All three times were set at the Friar Invitational.

Senior Cara Laverty (Derry, Ireland) will compete in the 1,500 meters. Laverty finished third at the 2026 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in the 1,500 in a personal-best time of 4:16.32 to earn All-BIG EAST honors.

On the men's side, sophomores Elliott Pugh (Tauranga, New Zealand) and Cormac Dixon (Dublin, Ireland) will race in the 1,500 meters. Last weekend at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, Pugh finished second in the 1,500-meter final to earn All-BIG EAST honors in 3:43.55. Dixon won the 5,000-meter BIG EAST title in a personal-best time of 13:48.17. In the 1,500 meters, Pugh holds a personal-best of 3:41.04 while Dixon has a 3:41.10.

For more information on the Providence College men's and women's indoor track teams, follow @FriarsXCTrack on Twitter and Instagram.

-GO FRIARS-
 
Athlete Event Start Time
Elliott Pugh
Cormac Dixon
Men's 1,500 Meter First Round Wednesday, May 27, 6:30pm
Cara Laverty Women's 1,500 Meter First Round Thursday, May 28, 6:30pm
Maeve O'Neill Women's 800 Meter First Round Thursday, May 28, 7:50pm
TBD Men's 1,500 Meter Quarterfinals Friday, May 29, 5:15pm
TBD Women's 1,500 Meter Quarterfinals Saturday, May 30, 5:15 pm
TBD Women's 800 Meter Quarterfinals Saturday, May 30, 7:05 pm
Anna Gardiner
Gabby Schmidt
Kate Currie
Women's 5,000 Meter Semifinals Saturday, May 30, 8:10 pm
Ocean State Invitational
Friday, April 12