NCAA Championships Info | Live Results/Schedule | ESPN Broadcast Schedule
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – American Athletic Conference track and field teams combined for 11 All-American performances (top-16) on the second day of the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The NCAA men’s outdoor meet will conclude Friday, while the women’s championship will wrap up on Saturday.
The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all parts of the competition and ceremonies. All field events will have online broadcasts via ESPN3.
Wichita State distance runner Rebekah Topham advanced to Saturday’s final of the 3K steeplechase in All-America fashion for the first time in her career. She earned second team All-America honors with her time of 9:57.06. Topham placed sixth in the second heat and ran the 10th-fastest preliminary time. Topham smashed the former American meet record at the 2019 championships in May and also holds the league’s all-time performance record with her NCAA West Regional time of 9:53.92, which is also good for a personal record.
The UCF, Cincinnati and Houston women’s teams each competed in the 4x100-meter relay semifinal. The Cougars’ quartet of Naomi Taylor, Essence Sample, Samiyah Samuels and Ashley Seymour clocked the fastest time in the conference’s and Houston’s history (43.48 seconds) but finished ninth and one spot shy of qualifying for Saturday’s final. The Knights placed 14th overall with their time of 43.82 seconds, while the Bearcats finished the race in 44.10 seconds for the 17th overall spot. All four sprinters in UCF’s (Loren Gallmon, Ciara Holback, Beyonce Defreitas and Shaniya Williams) and Houston’s relay squads collected second team All-America recognition for their top-16 finish.
Taylor, this year’s American indoor 60-meter hurdles champion and outdoor 100-meter hurdles winner, returned to the track later in the night and earned her second All-America nod of the meet with a 15th-place finish in her signature outdoor hurdles event (100mH; 13.14 seconds). Samuels, who returned to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for a second-straight year, joined her in competing in two events, finishing 11th in the long jump with her top distance of the night coming in at 6.21 meters (20-4½ ) on her first attempt. Her performance was good for securing second team All-America honors.
Memphis freshman Tanalaya Gordon, the only rookie featured in the field, also turned in an All-America performance in the long jump, placing 16th with her top jump coming on her last attempt, which reached 6.08 meters (19-11½ ).
Two senior Huskies finished their tremendous careers as All-Americans in the prelims. UConn’s Kat Surin, a two-time American 400-meter champion, ran the full lap around the track in 53.02 seconds, finishing 13th overall. Teammate Susan Aneno, a five-time American champion in the 800-meter, followed with a 10th-place finish in her event (2:04.30). It marked her second-straight top 10 finish at a national meet in the 800m this year after placing sixth overall in the NCAA Indoor 800m race.
One of The American’s most renowned field athlete’s career came to an end on Thursday. Returning to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for a third season, Cincinnati senior All-America thrower Annette Echikunwoke competed in both the hammer throw and shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the second time in her career. Echikunwoke started off the night with her top toss in the hammer throw traveling 58.57meters (192-2) before concluding her career with a second team All-America performance in the shot put. Echikunwoke registered a season-best distance of 16.78 meters (55-¾), finishing ninth place overall. Echikunwoke is a four-time American outdoor champion and won the NCAA indoor weight throw in 2017.
Tulane senior pole vaulter Rebekah Markel cleared the bar at 4.20 meters on her first attempt and finished in a two-way tie for 14th place to collect All-America accolades. Markel is the conference’s record holder in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault with clearances of 4.31 meters at the conference’s 2019 Outdoor Championships and 4.33 meters during 2018-19 the indoor regular season.
Wichita State senior Ben Johnson was the only male in action under The American’s banner on Thursday, as he completed the final five events of the decathlon. Johnson ended the championships in 14th place with 7,329 points. His best finish of the day came in the opening event, the 110-meter hurdles, where he placed seventh with a time of 14.78 seconds. He entered the national meet ranked 18th nationally in the men's decathlon with his first-place score of 7,413 points at The American Outdoor Championships. Johnson finished as a second team All-American for the second time this season after placing 12th in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The men’s championship concludes tomorrow, as Houston punched seven tickets to Friday’s finals. After finishing third place in 2018, the Cougars look to take home the title this year. The American’s Men’s Freshman of the Year, Adar Sheere of Memphis, will also be in action for the discus throw. Two Memphis women javelin throwers (Mona Jaidi and Ashley Pryke) will join him in competing in field competitions after their event was postponed from Thursday to Friday due to inclement weather.
American Athletic Conference NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Qualifiers
Men
Mario Burke, Houston (100m, 200m)
Travis Collins, Houston (100m)
Jermaine Holt, Houston (4x400m)
Obi Igbokwe, Houston (400m, 4x400m)
Quivell Jordan, Houston (110mH)
Amere Lattin, Houston (110mH, 400mH, 4x400m)
Kahmari Montgomery, Houston (400m, 200m)
Trumaine Jefferson, Houston (LJ)
Tyrell Valentine, Houston (4x400m)
Davon DeMoss, Memphis (100m, 4x100m)
Calvin Austin III, Memphis (4x100m)
Andrew Bishop, Memphis (4x100m)
Imri Persiado, Memphis (4x100m)
Julian Sanchez-Pinto, Memphis (3,000m SC)
Adar Sheere, Memphis (DT)
Emmanuel Rotich, Tulane (3,000m SC)
Ben Johnson, Wichita State (Decathlon)
Aaron True, Wichita State (JT)
Women
Loren Gallmon, UCF (4x100m)
Ciara Holback, UCF (4x100m)
Beyonce Defreitas, UCF (4x100m)
Shaniya Williams, UCF (4x100m)
Caisja Chandler, Cincinnati (200m, 4x100m)
Haisha Bisiolu, Cincinnati (4x100m)
Faith Banks, Cincinnati (4x100m)
Tiona Lattimore, Cincinnati (4x100m)
Annette Echikunwoke, Cincinnati (HT, SP)
Susan Aneno, UConn (800m)
Kat Surin, UConn (400m)
Essance Sample, Houston (4x100m)
Samiyah Samuels, Houston (LJ, 4x100m)
Ashley Seymour, Houston (100m, 4x100m)
Naomi Taylor, Houston (100mH, 4x100m)
Ashley Pryke, Memphis (JT)
Mona Jaidi, Memphis (JT)
Tanalya Gordon, Memphis (LJ)
Chelsea Francis, SMU (100m)
Nicole Iloanya, SMU (TJ)
Rebekah Markel, Tulane (PV)
Rebekah Topham, Wichita State (3,000m SC)