IRVING, Texas – Following a one-year hiatus the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships return with a three-day meet on May 14-16 at the USF Track & Field Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Men’s and women’s events will take place concurrently throughout the weekend in separate team competitions during the meet, which will air live on ESPN+.
THE AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS MAKES ITS RETURN
For the first time since 2019, the American Outdoor Track & Field Championships makes its triumphant return this weekend at the USF Track & Field Stadium. The 2020 edition of the championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Outdoor Track & Field Championships returns to USF for the first time since the debut championship meet in the inaugural season of the conference in 2014. Houston captured the men’s championship in the initial American meet at USF that season, while SMU won the women’s draw.
AMERICAN TEAMS IN THE USTFCCCA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Houston enters the 2021 American Outdoor Track & Field Championships as the top men’s team from the conference in USTFCCCA regional rankings, checking in fifth in the South Central Region according to the May 10 rankings release. Cincinnati checked in ninth in the Great Lakes Region, Wichita State was 10th in the Midwest Region and Memphis was 10th in the South Region to pace league squads across the country.
On the women’s side, Houston (South Central Region) and Cincinnati (Great Lakes Region) were both ranked fifth in their respective regions as of May 10. Temple was rated sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region and UCF narrowly missed out on the top 10 by checking in 11th in the South.
AMERICAN ATHLETES AMONG THE NCAA TOP-30 EVENT LEADERS
Athletes from The American are featured prominently in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Performance List entering this weekend’s conference meet. Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi ranked fourth in the nation in the men’s 100-meter dash (10.04) in the regular season, with teammate Travis Collins 10th (10.16) in the event. Christian Hamberlin of Houston posted the No. 22 time (20.51) in the 200-meter dash, just ahead of Cincinnati’s Chris Borzor (20.55, 26th) among the NCAA top 30. Caisja Chandler from Cincinnati checked in 10th in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 22.92 to pace the conference. Tulsa’s Patrick Dever ranked 11th in the men’s 5000-meter run (13:28.08), and Cincinnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld (28:10.95, seventh), Dever (28:28.13, 13th), Cincinnati’s Alec Sandusky (28:40.59, 21st) and Tulsa’s Scott Beattie (28:41.38, 24th) were among the national leaders in the 10,000-meter run. Caitlin Klopfer of Tulsa posted the 17th-fastest time (33:33.86) in the women’s 10,000-meter run.
UCF’s Rayniah Jones (12.73) and Houston’s Naomi Taylor (12.84) are among the top competitors in the nation in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, and Dayo Akindele of Houston checked in eighth in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.51. Quivell Jordan from Houston was 16th in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.50. Houston’s men’s 4x100-meter relay entry of Nicholas Alexander, Travis Collins, Edward Sumler IV and Shaun Maswanganyi are the national leaders with a time of 38.49 in the event. The Cougars added the ninth-ranked showing (43.68) in the women’s 4x100-meter relay with Camille Rutherford, Brianne Bethel, Cecilia Tamayo-Garza and Tristan Evelyn as the relay lineup.
In field events, Cincinnati’s Taylor Beard ranked 25th in the women’s high jump by clearing 1.79m (5-10.5). Antonio Ruiz (5.45m, 17-10.5) and Christyan Sampy (5.41m, 17-9.0) of Houston were 17th and 19th in the men’s pole vault, respectively. Tulane’s Trina Malej posted the 14th-best mark in the women’s triple jump (13.28m, 43-7.0) during the regular season. Adam Neelly from Memphis placed in the top 20 in the men’s discus with a throw of 57.86m (189-10.0) to rank 20th. Houston’s Nora Monie (58.05m, 190-5.0) and Memphis’ Samantha Lenton (57.98m, 190-3.0) are 10th and 11th, respectively, on the women’s discus performance list. Michael Bryan of Wichita State slotted ninth in the men’s hammer throw with a top attempt of 70.45m (231-2.0), and East Carolina’s Ryan Davis was 14th in the hammer with a mark of 69.51m (228-1.0). Houston’s Mikaila Martin (66.89m, 219-5.0) was 10th and Memphis’ Amber Simpson (64.65m, 212-1.0) was 25th in the women’s hammer throw. Wichita State’s Taran Taylor recorded the 17th-best throw in the men’s javelin (71.37m, 234-2.0) as The American leader.
CAN THE HOUSTON MEN EXTEND DOMINANT STREAK?
Winners of five of the six American Outdoor Track & Field Championships ever contested, Houston will look to make it five straight titles on the men’s side this weekend in Tampa. The Cougars faced the greatest challenge of their recent run during the 2019 championship meet at Wichita State, narrowly outpointing the host Shockers (178.75-166.75) by 12 points in the final scoring. Houston is the only active American program with a men’s championship in outdoor track & field, as UConn’s 2015 win was the only setback that has derailed the Cougars’ momentum.
Wichita State enters the women’s championship as the defending champion from 2019 and looks to join SMU (2014-15) and Cincinnati (2016-17) as American squads to successfully defend their outdoor track & field title. The Shockers became the first women’s team to win an American Outdoor Track & Field Championship in their home facility, denying Cincinnati of a third all-time meet victory by 19-point margin (126-107) in 2019.