WATCH | MEET SCHEDULE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the first fifth straight season, the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. The 2020 conference meet is set for Feb. 28-29 and will air on the American Digital Network.
 
Houston Men Looking For Sixth Straight Championship
 
Houston has been the dominant force in men’s track & field in The American for the past five seasons and the Cougars will look to extend their historic run with a sixth team championship at the 2020 meet in Birmingham. Houston tallied 159.5 points on the way to victory at the 2019 conference meet, the second-most in American history to the 174 the Cougars scored in 2017 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
During Houston’s reign atop the conference a total of four teams have finished as the meet runner-up behind the Cougars on the men’s side. Tulsa clocked second-place finishes in both 2015 and 2016, UConn was the runner-up in 2017, Memphis finished just behind Houston in 2018 and Wichita State placed second in 2019. UConn is the only other men’s program (2014) to win an indoor track & field championships since The American formed during the 2013-14 academic year.
 
Houston Women Attempt To Repeat
 
Houston is in search of a second straight women’s indoor track & field championship after winning The American meet for the first time in 2019, tallying 98 points to narrowly defeat Cincinnati (94.5 points). Cincinnati had dominated the 2018 edition of the meet, scoring a conference-record 147 points to raise The American hardware for the first time.
 
Since 2014 five different teams, SMU (2014), UConn (2015-16), UCF (2017), Cincinnati and Houston have claimed the women’s championship at The American indoor meet. Cincinnati has added a women’s record three runner-up showings (2016, 2017, and 2019) at the championship meet.
 
How American Conference Competitors Stack Up Nationally
 
Representatives of The American have shined thus far in the 2020 indoor track & field season, and as a result some familiar names populate the current NCAA top-20 performers across various events. Houston’s Travis Collins is tied for 20th in the 60-meter dash after clocking a 6.66 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational on Feb. 7, and SMU’s Chelsea Francis is tied for third nationally in the women’s 60-meter dash with a blazing 7.17 at the Houston G5-Super 22 Invitational on Jan. 31. Cincinnati’s Chris Borzor ran the 17th-fastest time of the regular season in the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 20.92 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational. Shian Hyde is the top-ranked American women’s competitor in the 200-meter dash, ranking 15th in the NCAA with a time of 23.37 at the Clemson Orange & Purple Elite on Jan. 11. Temple’s Millie Howard checks in 17th in the mile in the latest Division I performance list, clocking a 4:36.37 at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14.
 
Houston’s Dayo Akindele is tied for 17th nationally as The American leader in the men’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.76 set at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 14. Defending women’s 60-meter conference champion Naomi Taylor from Houston is slotted 13th (8.16, Red Raider Invitational on Jan. 24) following the regular season. Memphis’ Jordan Wesner is tied for 19th in the men’s high jump after clearing 2.20m (7-2.25) at the South Alabama Jaguar Invitational on Feb. 2, while Houston’s Antonio Ruiz is tied for 10th in the men’s pole vault thanks to a 5.50m (18-0.5) effort at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Houston’s Samiyah Samuels is ranked atop The American in the women’s long jump with a 6.24m (20-5.75) showing at the Red Raider Invitational to share 17th place in the NCAA.
 
Houston’s Nora Monie is tied for 20th place nationally in the women’s shot put with a top throw of 16.45m (53-11.75) at the Houston G5-Super 22 Invitational. ECU’s Ryan Davis (eighth, 22.20m/72-10, Carolina Challenge on Jan. 31) and Houston’s Miles Marhofer (17th, 21.40m/70-2.5, Charlie Thomas Invitational) are both top-20 performers in the men’s weight throw, while Houston’s Taylor Scaife (third, 22.89m/75-1.25, LSU Twilight on Feb. 21) and Memphis’ DeeNia McMiller (seventh, 22.20m/72-10, BSC Panther Indoor Icebreaker on Dec. 6) have shined in the women’s weight throw.
 
Individual Champions That Are Looking To Defend Their Crowns In Birmingham
 
A number of individual event winners from the 2019 American Indoor Track & Field Championships look to return and defend their titles at the 2020 meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Some 12 defending champions are expected to back in the fold for this season’s championships.
 
SMU’s Chelsea Francis returns to defend her women’s 60-meter dash title after clocking a meet record time of 7.26 in last season’s prelims before notching a finals run of 7.27. Brianne Bethel, the 2018 champion in the 60 dash, will look to repeat as the women’s 200-meter dash champion following a victorious meet record time of 23.12 in 2019.
 
UConn’s Tyler Gleen logged a time of 1:49.39 to win the men’s 800-meter run last year and ranks third in the distance among runners from The American this season (1:52.08). Wichita State’s Rebekah Topham (women’s mile and 3000-meter) and Winny Koskei (women’s 5000-meter) are expected to be strong contenders to repeat in their respective events in 2020, as both rank among the top-three in those events (Topham third in the mile, first in the 3000; Koskei second in the 5000) in the conference this season entering the championship meet.
 
Houston’s Naomi Taylor established a meet record time of 8.08 in the women’s 60-meter hurdle prelims last season on her way to capturing the event final in 8.21. Taylor was the 2020 regular season leader in the event in The American with an adjusted time of 8.16. Memphis’ Jordan Wesner cleared 2.22m in the men’s high jump to establish a meet record one year ago and is the conference leader at 2.20m (7-2.5) thus far in 2020. Samiyah Samuels attempts to win her third straight league title in the women’s long jump with the American’s top mark of 6.24m (20-5.75) prior to the championships. Irati Mitxelena from Cincinnati will look to build on a meet record try of 13.16m (43-2.25) in the women’s triple jump in 2019 in search of her third straight crown in the event.
 
Cincinnati’s Sam Meece won the men’s weight throw (20.98m, 68-10) in 2019 and, along with 2018 champion and American weight throw meet record holder Ryan Davis of ECU, represent a loaded field in the event at the 2020 conference meet. Houston’s Taylor Scaife will look for a repeat in the women’s weight throw (21.58m, 70-9.75), as will Cincinnati’s Angelica Lightfoot in the women’s pentathlon (meet record 3,926 points in 2019).
 
What American Conference Records Are In Jeopardy At The 2020 Indoor Championships?
 
Three records on the all-time indoor performance list have already fallen this season during the regular season prior to the American championship meet. SMU’s Chelsea Francis ran a conference-best 7.17 in the 60-meter dash at January’s Houston G5-Super 22 Invitational, and Millie Howard of Temple posted the best mile in conference history in 4:36.37 at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational. ECU’s Ryan Davis also clobbered the conference mark in the men’s weight throw with a distance of 22.20m, 72-10 at the Carolina Challenge in January.