April 17-20 Results:
Men’s Results
| Cincinnati |
Virginia Challenge/ Kentucky Invite |
RECAP |
| UConn |
Larry Ellis Invite |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Duke Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Mt. SAC Relays/ J. Fred Duckett Twilight Invite |
RECAP |
| Memphis |
War Eagle Invite/ Red Wolves Invite |
RECAP |
| USF |
South Florida Collegiate |
RECAP |
| Tulane |
Mt. SAC Relays/ LSU Alumni Gold |
RECAP |
| Tulsa |
Bryan Clay Invite/Mt. SAC Relays |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
KU Quadrangular |
RECAP |
Women’s Results
| UCF |
Georgia Tech Invite |
RECAP |
| UConn |
Larry Ellis Invite |
RECAP |
| Cincinnati |
Virginia Challenge/ Kentucky Invite |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Duke Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Mt. SAC Relays/ J. Fred Duckett Twilight Invite |
RECAP |
| Memphis |
War Eagle Invite/ Red Wolves Invite |
RECAP |
| USF |
South Florida Collegiate |
RECAP |
| SMU |
Mt. SAC Relays/ Bryan Clay Invite |
RECAP |
| Temple |
Virginia Challenge/ Larry Ellis Invite |
RECAP |
| Tulane |
Mt. SAC Relays/ LSU Alumni Gold |
RECAP |
| Tulsa |
Bryan Clay Invite/Mt. SAC Relays |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
Kansas Relays |
RECAP |
Highlights
First-place finishes, national marks, personal records and trips to the podium continued over the weekend, as all 12 American Athletic Conference outdoor track and field programs were in action, competing in 14 meets. The conference’s teams combined to set seven top marks on The American’s outdoor performance list this season.
Houston’s men’s team shot up the national rankings, moving four spots into No. 5 in the country after the Cougars competed at the Mt. SAC Relays and the J. Fred Duckett Invitational over the weekend. Cameron Laverty took top honors in the 800-meter run, winning the event with a time of 1:51.22. The men's 4x100-meter relay team finished second in the invitational event with a time of 39.17. Travis Collins, Mario Burke, Terence Ware, and John Lewis III combined for the fastest collegiate time in the event. On Thursday, Priscilla Adejokun and Mikaila Martin threw their way onto the medal stand after Adejokun finished second in the hammer throw with a mark of 190-9.00 (58.15m). Following right behind was Martin as she threw a 190-9.00 (58.14m).
In the 400-meter hurdles, Houston’s Amere Lattin took top honors in his section, and second-overall in the event. The senior concluded the race with a time of 49.98 seconds. Obi Igbokwe ran the fastest 400-meter time in The American this season (45.91 seconds). Felipe Valencia took home the shot put title with a throw of 60-6.75 (18.46m) for the top distance in the conference. The men's 4x400-meter relay squad closed out the meet for the Cougars on a high note, finishing in second place with a conference-best time of 3:05.05.
Memphis set a trio of school records at Auburn's War Eagle Invitational. DeeNia McMiller (hammer throw) and Paige Sandwell (3,000m steeplechase) set records Friday, while the Tigers’ men's 4x100-meter relay squad set a third school record Saturday. McMiller set the hammer throw record with a toss of 204-9 (62.41m), while Sandwell broke a 12-year-old school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by nearly 13 seconds with a time of 10:30.84. The quartet of Davon DeMoss, Imri Persiado, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson and Andrew Bishop posted a first-place time of 39.51 seconds in the 4x100m.
Adar Sheere also won gold in the men's discus throw with his top toss of 187-8 (57.21m) to lead The American this season. Samantha Lenton (53.04m/174-0) and Mona Jaidi (50.37m/165-3) registered the top two women’s discus throw distances in The American.
USF captured 11 individual titles over the weekend to highlight competition at the South Florida Collegiate at the USF Track and Field Stadium. Shaneylix Davila (100mH), Chelsea Francis (400m), Javonia Ellis (long jump), Kirby Powers (high jump), Arielle Boone (triple jump), Stephanie Lambeth (pole vault), Brittany Krug (javelin throw), Ashley Wilson (hammer throw), Kiara Miles (heptathlon), Maurice Nock (100m) and Taquon Terry (long jump) all placed first in their respective events.
UCF closed out the Georgia Tech Invitational with a pair of event titles on Saturday. Ciara Holback brought home the 200-meter dash crown (23.95 seconds), while UCF’s 4x400-meter relay (3:44.51) squad closed out the weekend with a second title for the Black and Gold. One day after tallying 10 Top 10 finishes, the Knights added 13 more on Saturday.
Cincinnati sent 28 student-athletes to the Kentucky Open Saturday at Kentucky’s Outdoor Track & Field Complex. The Bearcats posted 25 Top-10 finishes, 13 personal-best marks and 17 season-best efforts. Tiona Lattimore had a pair of top-five efforts, claiming third in the 400m dash and fourth in the 200m dash with times of 56.53 seconds and 24.51 seconds, respectively.
The UConn men and women competed at the Larry Ellis Invitational Saturday in Princeton, N.J. Ian Bergere placed second for the men in the pole vault, clearing a season-best height of 4.95 meters. The Husky women were highlighted by a record-breaking finish from Tia Strackman (1:01.38; 400 Meter-Hurdles) and a first-place effort from Thalia Ghalam (45.18 meters; javelin throw). The UConn women had eight top-five finishes.
Temple joined UConn at the Larry Ellis Invitational, as Lucy Jones shined for the Owls with a program-record time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Clocking a time of 10:36.10, the sophomore ran the fifth-fastest time in The American and placed fifth in an extremely competitive field.
In its final meet before the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, ECU made the short trek across the state to Durham for the Duke Invitational. Nick Ciaccia set the school record in the 5,000-meter run, crossing the finish line in 15:04.12 to take seventh place in a competitive field. Evan McCracken placed third in the shot put, with his top distance of 17.48 meters. On the women's side, Atlanta Woodall, Courtney Warner, Cedrina Singletary and Mariah Atwater teamed up for first place in the 4x100 relay with a time of 45.47. Singletary and Atwater were also part of the 4x400 relay that ended up in second place, finishing in 3:44.11.
Out west in the Golden State, Tulane’s Emmanuel Rotich and Mckenzie Melius ran distance races at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Thursday night. Rotich completed the 5,000-meter run race in 14:15.28, while Melius ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase, taking 21st place in a field of 100 athletes. The Green Wave also posted three victories at the highly competitive LSU Alumni Gold at Bernie Moore Track on Saturday. Rebekah Markel won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.20 meters. Tahja Mitchell was another big winner for the Green Wave, taking the 400-meter B section crown with a time of 54.17 seconds. Evans Kipchumba took the 5,000-meter run title, racing to a time of 15:17.83.
SMU completed competition at the final events of the regular season out west in California with the Mustangs contingent recording two conference-leading times. The trio of Hannah Miller, Svenja Ojstersek and Anneke Grogan all participated in the 5,000-meter run race and each improved on their best times of the season. Chelsea Francis had another notable weekend, setting a personal-record with a time of 11:35 seconds in the 100-meter dash. This mark is best in the conference and ranks 10th in the NCAA West. In the 200 meter, Francis recorded the conference’s second-best time.
Tulsa sent a select group to the Golden State on Thursday and Friday, picking up six top-10 Golden Hurricane all-time marks at the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays in California. Peter Lynch (29:29.15) and Benjamin Preisner (29:29.35) ran the top two 10,000-meter times in The American Thursday.
With only a dozen Shockers in action, Wichita State recorded eight top-10 finishes on Thursday at the Kansas Relays. The Shockers registered nine top-five times in The American this season over the weekend. Kendra Henry (javelin throw) and the men's 4x800m came away with event titles on Friday. The quartet of Jason Landon, Zack Penrod, Connor Stine and Jed Helker clocked 7:50.37 to win the race, while Henry won the javelin throw with her first-attempt toss of 42.99m/141-0.
The Shockers ended the meet Saturday, winning three more event titles on the men’s side. Aaron True won the men’s javelin with a season-best throw of 75.33m/247-1. His mark currently ranks No. 3 in the nation and he improved his No. 1 ranking in The American. Austin Corley bettered his performance, winning the 400-meter hurdles finals with a season-best time of 50.90 seconds. In the last event of the meet, the men's 4x400m team held off a late surge from Kansas to finish on a high note winning the race in 3:10.51. The group of Corley, Jace Coppoc, Adam Gauzy and Rayvon Allen recorded a Shocker season leading time and currently ranks No. 2 in the American Athletic Conference.