Championship Central | Live Results | Day 1 Video | Day 2 Video | Championship Program
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – All 12 American Athletic Conference teams will head to Birmingham, Ala. for the third straight year, as the conference will host its Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex from Feb. 23-24. All the action will be streamed live on The American Digital Network.
The American welcomes back 20 men’s and women’s title winners from last season, who will look to defend their top spots this year. Seven of the returning men’s champions hold a meet record, while No. 25 Cincinnati’s Annette Echikunwoke is the sole returning women’s conference record-holder.
Numerous school records, personal records, top finishes and qualifiers have highlighted the 2017-18 indoor season, while 15 athletes from around the conference have met the NCAA qualifying standards. Thirty-four men have recorded top-50 NCAA marks with No. 10 Houston leading the way with 10, while 25 women rank in the nation’s top-50 with Cincinnati accounting for nine.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEN’S MEET
Houston is the three-time defending champion for the men and will enter the 2018 championship on the heels of another strong regular season. The only other team to win an American Athletic Conference title was UConn in 2014.
Heptathlon
Wichita State’s Hunter Veith landed a score of 6,023 on the first day of competition for the 2017-18 indoor season (Nov. 30). The senior’s score has remained atop the conference’s performance list, as he enters his inaugural American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship as the heptathlon favorite. Veith’s mark also ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this season, while teammate Ben Johnson has the nation’s 14th-best heptathlon score (5,616), which is third in the league. Cincinnati’s Alex Bloom is second in the league with a score of 5,649.
Mile Run
UConn senior Michael O’Donnell won as a freshman, and he could do it again this season, as he holds the top mile time in The American (4:02.87). O’Donnell’s top time this season—which was run on Feb. 9 at Boston University—is lower than the conference’s meet record. In second on the performance list is Wichita State’s Zack Penrod who clocked a time of 4:03.39 at the Indoor Gorilla Classic on the same day.
60-Meter Hurdles
Houston junior Amere Lattin will defend his title after running the 15th-fastest 60m hurdles time in the country at 7.79 this season. A Cougar has won the title in this event for the past three seasons, as teammate Quivell Jordan owns the third-best time on The American performance list this season (8.03).Wichita State’s Hunter Veith has the No. 2 –ranked 60m hurdle time in the league at 7.96.
400-Meter Dash
The 400m dash will feature the past two American champions in UConn’s Trenten Beram and Cincinnati’s Jimmy Brooks. However, a new name is atop The American performance list this season: Houston’s Kahmari Montgomery. The junior ran the 400m in 46.00 at the Tyson Invitational on Feb, 9—a better time than the current championship record.
60-Meter Dash
No one in The American has had a more outstanding regular season than Houston’s Elijah Hall. The senior sprinter bettered his mark in the 60m dash each time he ran this season, most recently recording a time of 6.58 on Feb. 9 at the Tyson Invitational—just one second from The American record. His time is ranked the third-fastest in the NCAA this year. Houston has claimed this event’s title in every American Championship and is the favorite once again this season.
800-Meter Run
The 800m run for the men will be a battle between two athletes tied for the top time in The American this season (1:50.30) and two additional runners posting times within the 1:50 mark. UConn freshman Tyler Gleen and ECU senior Stefano Migliorati are tied atop the conference with the top time. Tulsa’s Robert Tully and Houston’s Cameron Laverty are just tenths of a second off the conference’s leading mark.
200-Meter Dash
Three Houston sprinters lead the way in the 200m dash. The Cougars’ Elijah Hall broke his second school record of the season on Feb. 2, running the fourth-fastest 200m time in the country at 20.51. Houston has won this event twice before, as Jacarias Martin (21.23) and Amere Lattin (21.29) follow in second and third place, respectively, on The American performance list this season.
5,000-Meter Run
A Tulsa runner has won the 5,000m run for the men for the past three seasons, as Golden Hurricane junior Benjamin Preisner looks to defend his title. Preisner ran a conference-best time of 13:57.97 at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9, which is nearly 30 seconds faster than his championship-winning time posted last year.
Distance Medley Relay
The UConn men are nearly 13 seconds ahead of the American Athletic Conference teams in the distance medley relay with a time of 9:48.97 clocked at the NEICAAA Championships.
3,000-Meter Run
Tulsa’s Benjamin Preisner has excelled in the distance events in The American and leads the way in the 3,000m run with a time of 8:10.74 recorded at the Jayhawk Classic on Jan. 25. UConn’s Michael O’Donnell trails by two seconds, having run the 3,000m in 8:12.97 at the Great Dane Classic on Jan. 13.
4x400-Meter Relay
Houston ran the fourth-fastest 4x400m relay in the nation at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 9, breaking its school record with a time of 3:04.18. The record-breaking team is comprised of Amere Lattin, Elijah Hall, Mario Burke and Kahmari Montgomery. Houston’s time is at least nine seconds faster than each of the past four champions’ marks.
Pole Vault
Cincinnati senior Adrian Valles continues to dominate in the men’s pole vault. The three-time reigning American champion broke his own school record with a clearance of 5.61 meters at the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 20, which is No. 3 in the NCAA this season. USF’s David Bell also broke his school’s pole vault record with a height of 5.31m--the No. 2 clearance in The American this season.
Weight Throw
Last year’s champion, Aleks Rapp of Tulsa, threw for 20.14m on Jan. 12 at the Arkansas Invitational, but ECU junior Ryan Davis has the top mark in the conference this season. He’s thrown for at least 20.30 three times this season and holds a conference-best toss of 20.87, which sits 25th in the NCAA this year.
Long Jump
UConn junior Malik Snead leaped a distance of 7.67 meters on Dec. 7 at the UConn MultiEvent Challenge and has held the longest distance in the conference this year. His mark is the 25th-longest distance reached in the NCAA this season. The next-best distance in The American belongs to Cincinnati freshman Austin Edwards, who owns a mark of 7.62m.
High Jump
Cincinnati senior Alex Bloom cleared a height of 2.10m at the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 12 and has held the conference’s top mark ever since. Two UConn freshmen in Daniel Claxton (2.09m) and Scott Safir (2.08m) are second and third, respectively on The American performance list.
Shot Put
Houston has won the men’s shot put in every American Athletic Conference Championship, and two former Cougar champions will battle for the title this year. Three-time defending champion Cameron Cornelius looks for his fourth title, coming off an 18.43m toss last season to claim his third first-place finish in the meet. The senior is third in the league this season with a distance of 17.61m. The 2016 champion, Felipe Valencia, holds a conference-best 18.49 distance this season. Memphis’ Luke Vaugn is second in the conference this year with a distance of 17.91m.
Triple Jump
UConn junior Malik Snead earned the conference’s best triple jump of the regular season on Dec. 2 at Boston University. He reached a distance of 15.84m, which ranks 17th in the NCAA. Wichita State junior Jared Belardo ranks second on the conference performance list with a distance of 15.65m.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WOMEN’S MEET
UCF will look to defend its title on the women’s side, while Cincinnati has been on the brink, finishing in the top-5 for the past three years. UConn has two conference titles and has finished top-5 each year, and SMU won the championship in 2014.
Pentathlon
Cincinnati junior Naomi Urbano looks to defend her pentathlon title, as she enters The American Indoor Championship with the top mark in the conference (3830). Her score achieved at the Charlie Thomas Invitational on Feb. 2 betters her conference-winning mark from last season by 120 points, as she improved in the long jump and high jump this season. The next-best competitor this year is USF’s freshman Kaitlyn Kirby who recorded a score of 3677 at the Akron Invitational on Feb. 2.
Mile Run
SMU sophomore Hannah Miller and UConn freshman Mia Nahom are expected to be competitive in the one mile run. Miller is first on The American performance list at 4:45.01, just a second ahead of Nahom who clocked a season-best time of 4:46.15 on Feb. 3. Both regular season times would break the current conference meet record.
60-Meter Hurdles
The 60m hurdles will be competitive this year with Houston freshman Naomi Taylor leading the pack after an 8.26 performance on Feb. 9 at the Tyson Invitational. Tulane’s Jessica Duckett and Brandi Hughes are running within two-tenths of a second of each other with the second and third-place spots, respectively, on the league’s performance list. Temple’s Sylvia Wilson, The American’s 2016 champion, also holds a top-15 time this season.
400-Meter Dash
Cincinnati’s Bryana Robinson returns to the conference championship at the top of the league’s performance list this year, bettering her mark from last season by 0.44 seconds (53.08). Teammate Tiona Lattimore isn’t far behind, with the second-fastest time in The American at 53.75. Haisha Bisiolu and Deanna Gesicki are also ranked in the top 10 for the Bearcats on The American performance list for this event.
60-Meter Dash
Three sophomore sprinters ran their season-best 60m dash within seven hundredths of a second of each other on the same day this season (Feb. 9). SMU’s Chelsea Francis leads the way with her time of 6.30. Houston’s Brianne Bethel clocked a time of 7.36, while Memphis’ Cera Chavez ran for a time of 7.37.
800-Meter Run
UCF’s Rosie Chamberlain has won the 800m run for the past two seasons, but will be challenged by UConn’s Susan Aneno, who holds the league’s top time this season (2:04.65). Aneno’s time ranks 13th in the nation.
200-Meter Dash
SMU holds the No. 1 and 2 spots on The American performance list with last year’s 200m champion in Latessa Johnson leading the way (23.29). Teammate Chelsea Francis is in a close second with a season-best time of 23.77. Three sprinters have reached the 23-second mark this season, including Brianne Bethel (23.78; Houston), Tiona Lattimore (23.85; Cincinnati) and Bryana Robinson (23.93; Cincinnati).
5,000-Meter Run
SMU sophomore Hannah Miller looks to build on a standout cross country season and leverage the momentum onto the track. The sophomore distance runner has the best 5,000m time in the conference after a school-record 16:26.76 performance at the Music City Challenge on Feb. 9. The next best 5,000m mark this year came from Tulsa sophomore Caitlin Klopfer who clocked a time of 16:52.78 at the Iowa State Classic on the same day.
Distance Medley Relay
The Huskies hold nearly a 20-second lead over other conference programs in the distance Medley relay after competing at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 9. The team of Susan Aneno, Kat Surin, Katie Foley and Mia Nahom clocked a time of 11:21.45 win the meet. The squad earned the No. 14 time in the nation in the process.
3,000-Meter Run
Hannah Miller is atop The American performance list, leading the way by 23 seconds in the 3,000m with her time of 9:26.62 at the Vanderbilt Invitational on Jan. 19. The sophomore also leads the conference in the 5,000m and the mile this season. UConn has won this event in three out of four American championships.
4x400-Meter Relay
The team of Tiona Lattimore, Haisha Bisiolu, Deanna Gesicki and Bryana Robinson own the 32nd-fastest 4x400m relay time in the country and lead the conference this year. The Bearcats look to repeat after winning the title last season with their time this year (3:36.96) topping last year’s performance by nearly four seconds. UConn’s squad of Kristina Cherrington, Kat Surin, Katie Foley and Susan Aneno have the second-fastest time in the conference this season at 3:40.31.
Pole Vault
Cincinnati junior Catherine Brooke set a school record in the pole vault and moved up to the top of The American performance list with a clearance of 4.26m at the Music City Challenge on Feb. 9. Tulane junior Rebekah Markel also cracked the 4-meter mark and has a season-best 4.15m clearance to enter the championship at the No. 2 spot in the conference.
Weight Throw
Once again, Cincinnati senior Annette Echikunwoke is the national leader in the weight throw, moving to first place in the NCAA after reaching a school-record distance of 24.78 meters on Feb. 16 at the Buckeye Tune-Up. The senior thrower’s top mark this year is No. 2 all-time in the NCAA. Echikunwoke is one to watch at The American Championships, having won the weight throw title for the past two seasons.
Long Jump
Houston sophomore Samiyah Samuels landed at the top of The American performance list on Feb. 2 when she registered a distance of 6.15m in the long jump. Close behind this year is teammate Tonyecia Burks, who recorded a distance of 5.97m at the Houston Invitational on Jan. 26. Kellsa Mbah of Cincinnati looks to defend her title, taking first place in last year’s American Championship with a distance of 6.09m. She’s third on the league’s performance list this season with a mark of 5.90m.
High Jump
Cincinnati junior Loretta Blaut has the No. 10 high jump in the nation after clearing a height of 1.84m on Feb. 2 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational. Jumping 0.11 meters higher this season, she will look to defend her title, as the Bearcats have won the long jump in every league Championship thus far.
Shot Put
Cincinnati’s top thrower, Annette Echikunwoke, holds the No. 1 shot put distance in the conference this season at 16.72m from Dec. 8 at the Hoosier Open. She will be challenged for the title by the reigning shot put champion and league record-holder in UConn’s Divine Oladipo. The sophomore is just behind Echikunwoke on The American performance list with a toss of 16.64m.
Triple Jump
Houston senior Tonyecia Burks won the triple jump last year and returns with the top regular season mark in the league this season at 12.92m. Cincinnati sophomore Irati Mitxelena jumped 12.54m at the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 20 and is No. 2 on the conference performance list.