Men’s Results
 
Women’s Results
 
Indoor Track & Field Championship Central
 
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The inaugural American Athletic Conference Championships featured one come-from-behind team victory and one team holding strong from the first day. The UConn Huskies earned the 2014 men’s title, totaling 158 points, while the SMU Mustangs were crowned the 2014 women’s champion with 118.5 points. The coaches from both winning teams were also named Coaching Staffs of the Year.
 
For the men, Louisville wrapped up second place with 123 points and Houston third with 116. UConn’s women’s team took a close second, recording 114 points, and Houston took third with 87.5.
 
Following outstanding individual performances over two days, sophomore Leshon Collins of Houston was named Outstanding Male Track Athlete for the championship, while junior Corey Crawford of Rutgers was named Outstanding Male Field Athlete. On the women’s side, sophomore Emily Durgin earned Outstanding Female Track Athlete, while Rayann Chin of SMU was named Outstanding Female Field Athlete.
 
Despite sealing only two gold medals on the meet, the UConn men saw top-eight finishes galore to easily claim the points and take the meet. The Huskies’ men’s 4x400-meter relay team clinched the gold to close out the meet, while the lone individual gold belonged to freshman Michael O’Donnell in the mile, who ran a season-best 4:13.21. Nicholas Bertoline clinched third in the event in 4:13.60.
 
The Huskies’ supporting cast included senior Darnell Cummings, who took home silver in the 200-meter dash in 21.10. He also tied his season-best 6.79 in the 60-meter dash to finish third. In the shot put, Eric Masington placed second with a toss of 17.30m (56’-9.25”). UConn also was able to seal the third through sixth places in the 800-meter run and third through fifth in the 400-meter dash.
 
SMU was led by junior Stephanie Kalu, who backed up her top seed entering the finals and took gold in the 60-meter dash in 7.31. She also was a presence in the 200-meter dash, taking second in 23.94, a season-best. The Mustangs also earned two of three podium spots in the shot put. Chin placed first, tossing 15.99m (52’-5.5”) to bolster her season-best mark by nearly three feet. Senior Helena Perez, the top seed entering the championship, took third with her distance of 15.66m (51’-4.5”).
 
As always, the distance events were strong for SMU, with two silver medal finishes on Saturday. Agnes Sjostrom placed second in the 3,000-meter run in 9:40.51, while Holly Archer notched a time of 4:53.67 for a runner-up finish in the mile. Fifth, sixth and seventh place finishes in the 3,000-meter run also clinched crucial points for the champion Mustangs.
 
The remainder of the individual gold medals went to a variety of teams.
 
UConn’s Emily Durgin continued her distance dominance from Friday, earning Outstanding Female Track Athlete honors on the heels of three gold medals. On Friday, she won the 5,000-meter run and anchored the winning Distance Medley Relay team, and followed Saturday with a winning time of 9:36.65 in the 3,000-meter run.
 
The UConn women picked up three more golds on Saturday for four total in the distance events and one in the field events. Laura Williamson made a comeback finish to win the mile in 4:53.00, a season best for the sophomore, while teammate Odrine Belot took the triple jump with a leap of 12.79m (41’-11.5”). To close the meet on a high note, the 4x400-meter relay team also crossed the line first with a time of 3:37.92.
 
Most Outstanding Male Field Athlete Corey Crawford was the highlight for Rutgers, taking the long jump on Friday with a nation-leading distance of 8.22m (26’-11.75”). That distance is currently ranked second in the world. Crawford also made an appearance in the high jump for the first time since high school, and clinched silver in the process with a height of 2.09m (6’-10.25”).
 
Louisville earned an upset in the 60-meter hurdles, with Calvin Arsenault edging out Isaac Williams of Houston to take first in 7.88. Arsenault’s time marked a season best and set a new Louisville record. The Cardinal women saw sophomore Kelsey Cramsey pick up an event win in the 800-meter run, finishing in a school-record time of 2:05.60 to sit 15^th in Division I.
 
Ben Williams, who led the conference in the triple jump, did not disappoint for Louisville either, winning the event with a season-best jump of 16.16m (53’-0.25’). Shane Lewis and Matthew O’Neal of USF claimed the other two podium spots in the event.
 
Houston’s jump to third place began with a victory in the field events. Freshman Cameron Cornelius tossed a season-best 17.68m (58’-0.25”) to win the shot put, opening up the door for sprinters extraordinaire Collins and Cameron Burrell. As expected, the 60-meter dash included a one-two finish from Collins and Burrell, with Collins edging out his teammate to take gold in 6.63. Burrell took silver with a 6.69 mark. Drevan Anderson-Kappa posted a season-best, winning the 800-meter dash in 1:50.33.
 
Senior Brittany Wallace commandeered the Houston women, earning two gold medals and two conference-best times on the season in as many events. She jumped to 12^th in the nation with her 52.93 mark in the 400, and flew by the competition to take the 200-meter dash in 23.64.
 
The Cougar women also earned strong finishes from Sade-Mariah Greenidge, who won the 60-meter hurdles in a season-best 8.32, and Dominique Brisco, who finished right behind Greenidge in the 60-hurdles in 8.45 and also finished second in the triple jump (12.47m).
 
In the men’s high jump, Darius Lynwood of Memphis held true to his conference-best season performance, winning the high jump at 2.09m (6’-10.25”), converting on his first attempt. Luis Hanssler picked up an impressive victory in the heptathlon, earning 5,444 points, including first-place performances in the event’s 60-meter dash, long jump and 60-hurdles.
 
Erika Hurd picked up the second gold for the Cincinnati women in the field events in as many days, winning the high jump with a mark of 1.80m (5’-10.75”), a personal record. On the men’s side for the Bearcats, senior Darnell Gilbert crossed the line in 48.04 to win the 400-meter dash.
 
For all of the behind-the-scenes info from the Indoor Track & Field Championships, be sure to visit Championship Central on TheAmerican.org. The live stream of both days is also available on The American Digital Network (TheAmerican.org/DN) via archive.
 
Men’s Team Scores
1. UConn          158
2. Louisville       123
3. Houston        116
4. Memphis       96
5. USF              71
6. Rutgers         44
7. Cincinnati      40
8. Temple          10
 
Women’s Team Scores
1. SMU             118.5
2. UConn          114
3. Houston        87.5
4. UCF              78
5. Louisville       77
6. Memphis       55.5
7. Cincinnati      48.5
8. USF              39
9. Rutgers         31
10. Temple        11
 
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year
UConn
 
Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year
SMU
 
Most Outstanding Male Track Performer
Leshon Collins, Houston, So.
 
Most Outstanding Male Field Performer
Corey Crawford, Rutgers, Jr.
 
Most Outstanding Female Track Performer
Emily Durgin, UConn, So.
 
Most Outstanding Female Field Performer
Rayann Chin, SMU, Jr.