IRVING, Texas – For the second time in three seasons, the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships are back at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. The 2022 American championships are scheduled for May 13-15, with live coverage on ESPN+.
AMERICAN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO WICHITA STATE
The American Outdoor Track & Field Championships return to Cessna Stadium at Wichita State after most recently being contested in the venue in 2019. The Houston’s men’s program defeated host Wichita State by a 178.75-166.75 score during the 2019 championships, while Wichita State scored 126 points to outpoint Cincinnati (107 points) for its first American women’s title.
Amere Lattin from Houston posted the meet record in the men’s 110-meter hurdles (13.56) in the 2019 championships that still stands, and Wichita State’s Winny Koskei ran a record women’s 10,000-meter time of 34:24.94 on home turf. Cincinnati’s Annette Echikunwoke also logged a top women’s hammer throw attempt of 65.41m (214-7.0) that remains the mark to beat in the history of the championships entering the 2022 edition.
HOUSTON MEN IN SEARCH OF SEVENTH TITLE, THREE WOMEN’S TEAMS IN SEARCH OF A THIRD
The longtime men’s stalwart of the American Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Houston returns to Wichita in search of its sixth conference first-place trophy in seven years and its seventh title overall. The Cougars have won every men’s title at the meet dating back to 2015, tallying a meet record 221.50 points to defeat Wichita State at the 2021 edition of the American championships in Tampa, Florida. Shaun Maswanganyi earned the 2021 American Men’s Track Most Outstanding Performance and American Men’s Freshman of the Year awards after sweeping the 100 and 200-meter dash finals a season ago for Houston.
In the women’s competition, Cincinnati (2016 and 2017), Houston (2018 and 2021) and SMU (2014 and 2015) have each won the American Outdoor Track & Field Championships twice, to go along with Wichita State’s 2019 crown. Houston returned the winners’ circle in 2021 with 153 points at South Florida last season.
NEW CONFERENCE PERFORMANCE LIST LEADERS IN 1500-METER RUN
The top time in the 1500-meter run on both the men’s and women’s American outdoor performance lists have already fallen this year leading into the American Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Tulsa’s Michael Power ran a 3:40.97 at the Payton Jordan Invitational on April 29, breaking the conference watermark of 3:41.18 set by former Golden Hurricane standout Patrick Dever at last season’s American championship. Cincinnati’s Ellie Leather also etched her name into the league’s top spot in the women’s 1500-meters, posting a time of 4:14.14 at the Raleigh Relays on March 24 to shatter the previous record of 4:16.09 set by Memphis’ Martina Rodriguez Sala at 2018 NCAA Regionals.
AMERICAN ATHLETES IN THE NCAA DIVISION I RANKINGS
The latest NCAA DI outdoor performance list features many American athletes included among the nation’s top 50 performers entering this week’s outdoor track & field conference championships. Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi was ranked 14th in the men’s 100-meter dash with a top time of 10.10 set at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 13. East Carolina’s Royal Burris was slotted 25th in the men’s 200-meter dash with a 20.49 showing at the ECU Bill Carson Invitational on April 1, with Houston’s Edward Sumler IV ranked 45th with a time of 20.60 at the Tom Tellez Invitational on May 6. Tulsa’s Michael Power was an even 50th with his conference-record 1500-meter run time of 3:40.97 at the Payton Jordan Invitational and ranked 19th in the men’s 5000-meter run by clocking a 13:29.57 at the Stanford Invitational on April 1, with teammates Scott Beattie (23rd, 13:31.34, Payton Jordan Invitational) and Isaac Akers (25th, 13:32.84, Stanford Invitational) also prominently featured in the 5000-meter list. Beattie was 16th in the men’s 10,000-meter run with a 28:19.90 showing at the Stanford Invitational, followed by Peter Lynch in 36th with a 28:36.32 time at Stanford. DJ Akindele (Tom Tellez Invitational) and De’Vion Wilson (Penn Relays, April 28) from Houston shared 25th place in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.70, and teammate Quivell Jordan-Bacot sat 10th in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a 49.63 showing at the Penn Relays on April 28.
South Florida’s Romaine Beckford threw down the fourth-best mark in the men’s high jump thus far this season, clearing 2.23m (7-3.75) at the Penn Relays, and Wichita State’s Brady Palen (13th, 2.18m/7-1.75, KT Woodman Classic, April 6) was also in the national top 50. Houston’s Christyan Sampy and Antonio Ruiz have each cleared 5.55m (18-2.5) in the men’s pole vault to share seventh place in the NCAA standings, followed immediately by Cole Riddle from Memphis with a 5.53m (18-1.75) mark at the Memphis Tiger Invitational on April 29 in 10th place. Cincinnati’s Austin Goolsby was ranked 48th with a 5.22m (17-1.15) top clearance at the Tom Jones Memorial on April 15.
Eron Carter from South Florida was slotted 44th in the men’s discus with a top attempt of 56.93m (186-9.0) at the South Florida Invitational on April 8. Wichita State’s Michael Bryan checked in 11th in the men’s hammer throw with a 70.33m (230-9.0) toss at the John McDonnell Invitational on April 7. Memphis’ Robert Watson sat 21st in the discus with a 68.33m (224-2.0) throw at the Rhodes College Invitational on March 18. Taran Taylor from Wichita State appeared at the 26th position in the men’s javelin with a top mark of 69.41m (227-9.0) at the John Jacobs Invitational on April 22. Vitaliy Favorov from Memphis checked in 37th in the javelin at 68.08m (223-4.0) at the War Eagle Invitational on April 15.
Cecilia Tamayo-Garza from Houston checked in 20th in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.20 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on March 23, followed closely by UCF’s Rayniah Jones in 39th with an 11.32 at the Tom Jones Memorial and Houston’s Camille Rutherford in 48th with an 11.38 at the Tom Tellez Invitational. Cincinnati’s Caisja Chandler ranked 37th in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 23.15 at the Tom Jones Memorial, just ahead of UCF’s Latasha Smith at 39th with a 23.17 showing at the LSU Alumni Gold on April 23. UCF’s Smith was tied for 15th in the country in the women’s 400-meter dash after crossing the line in 52.01 at the Tom Jones Memorial, and Cincinnati’s Faith Banks was an even 50th in the 400 with a 53.07 at the Tom Jones Memorial. Cincinnati’s Ellie Leather ranked 14th in the women’s 1500-meter run with her conference record time of 4:14.14 at the Raleigh Relays. UCF’s Jones raced all the way to eighth in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a blazing 12.79 at the North Florida Collegiate Invitational on April 29, with Houston’s Naomi Taylor checking in 15th with a 13.01 at the Penn Relays, Shaneylix Davila from South Florida in 17th with a 13.03 at the South Florida Invitational and Destiny Smith from Houston in 34th with a time of 13.24 at the Tom Tellez Invitational. Sanique Walker from South Florida snagged the 34th position in the women’s 400-meter hurdles standings thanks to a time of 58.24 at the Penn Relays. Tulsa’s Katharina Pesendorfer rated 49th in DI in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase after clocking in at 10:15.63 at the Joe Walker Invitational on April 8.
Sommer Knight from East Carolina cleared 4.31m (14-1.75) at the Virginia Challenge on April 22 in the women’s pole vault to slot at 15th on the national performance list. Shaniya Benjamin from South Florida led the way for the conference in the women’s long jump, clearing 6.38m (20-11.25) at the Mt. SAC Relays to rank 21st in the NCAA, with SMU’s Funminiyi Olajide at 36th with a 6.26m (20-6.5) at the Alumni Muster on April 30. Houston’s Destiny Lawrence found herself ranked seven overall in the women’s triple jump with a 13.61m (44-8.0) effort during the Houston Alumni Invitational on April 2, followed by Cincinnati’s Kennedy Marable (26th, 13.19m/43-3.25, Tom Jones Memorial), UCF’s Asherah Collins (36th, 13.05m/42-9.75, LSU Alumni Gold) and Temple’s Tannekee Strachan (40th, 12.98m/42-7.0, Virginia Challenge) also among the top 50.
Nu'uausala Tuilefano of Houston logged the 27th-best national distance in the women’s shot put, clearing 16.92m (55-6.25) at the Houston Alumni Invitational. Memphis’ DeeNia McMiller posted the number 40 shot put performance with a 16.32m (53-6.5) throw at the War Eagle Invitational. In the women’s discus, Cincinnati’s Jane Sensibaugh (34th, 55.15m/180-11.0, Tom Jones Memorial) and UCF’s Adrienne Adams (45th, 53.69m/176-2.0, UCF Knights Invite) each were among the national top-50 performers. Memphis’ McMiller was slotted 19th in the women’s hammer throw with a 66.40m (217-10.0) performance at the Crimson Tide Invitational on April 22, and Houston’s Priscilla Adejokun was 25th with a 64.41m (211-4.0) attempt at the Houston Spring Break Invitational on March 17. Vigdis Jonsdottir from Memphis sat 32nd in the country in the hammer after covering 63.06m (206-11.0) during the Memphis Tiger Invitational. Memphis’ Mona Jaidi led the conference in the women’s javelin with the 15th-ranked throw in the country of 54.01m (177-2.0) at the Memphis Tiger Invitational.
2022 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships
CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE (All times are Central)
Friday, May 13 (ESPN+)
Field Events
12:00 p.m. Hammer Throw - Women's Trials and Final
2:30 p.m. Hammer Throw - Men's Trials and Final
4:30 p.m. Javelin - Women's Trials and Final
6:30 p.m. Javelin - Men's Trials and Final
Heptathlon
12:30 p.m. 100-Meter Hurdles
1:10 p.m. High Jump
3:00 p.m. Shot Put
4:00 p.m. 200-Meter Dash
Decathlon
12:00 p.m. 100-Meter Dash
12:40 p.m. Long Jump
1:40 p.m. Shot Put
2:45 p.m. High Jump
4:00 p.m. 400-Meter Dash
Track Events
6:30 p.m. 1500-Meter Run - Women's Trials
6:45 p.m. 1500-Meter Run - Men's Trials
7:00 p.m. 200-Meter Dash - Women's Trials
7:15 p.m. 200-Meter Dash - Men's Trials
7:30 p.m. 400-Meter Hurdles - Women's Trials
7:40 p.m. 400-Meter Hurdles - Men's Trials
7:55 p.m. 10,000-Meter Run - Women's Trials
8:35 p.m. 10,000-Meter Run - Men's Trials
Saturday, May 14 (ESPN+)
Field Events
3:00 p.m. Long Jump - Women's Trials and Final
3:30 p.m. Shot Put - Women's Trials and Final
4:30 p.m. Pole Vault - Women's Trials and Final
5:00 p.m. Long Jump - Men's Trials and Final
5:30 p.m. Shot Put - Men's Trials and Final
Heptathlon
11:00 a.m. Long Jump
1:00 p.m. Javelin
2:30 p.m. 800-Meter Run
Decathlon
10:30 a.m. 110-Meter Hurdles
11:20 a.m. Discus
12:30 p.m. Pole Vault
3:30 p.m. Javelin
5:00 p.m. 1500-Meter Run
Track Events
5:30 p.m. 100-Meter Hurdles - Women's Trials
5:45 p.m. 110-Meter Hurdles - Men's Trials
6:00 p.m. 800-Meter Run - Women's Trials
6:15 p.m. 800-Meter Run - Men's Trials
6:30 p.m. 400-Meter Dash - Women's Trials
6:45 p.m. 400-Meter Dash - Men's Trials
7:00 p.m. 100-Meter Dash - Women's Trials
7:15 p.m. 100-Meter Dash - Men's Trials
7:30 p.m. 3000-Meter Steeplechase - Women's Final
7:45 p.m. 3000-Meter Steeplechase - Men's Final
Sunday, May 15 (ESPN+)
Field Events
2:30 p.m. High Jump - Men's Trials and Final
2:30 p.m. Triple Jump - Women's Trials and Final
2:30 p.m. Discus - Women's Trials and Final
3:30 p.m. Pole Vault - Men's Trials and Final
4:30 p.m. High Jump - Women's Trials and Final
4:30 p.m. Triple Jump - Men's Trials and Final
4:30 p.m. Discus - Men's Trials and Final
Track Events
4:30 p.m. 400-Meter Relay - Women's Final
4:40 p.m. 400-Meter Relay - Men's Final
4:50 p.m. 1500-Meter Run - Women's Final
5:00 p.m. 1500-Meter Run - Men's Final
5:10 p.m. 100-Meter Hurdles - Women's Final
5:20 p.m. 110-Meter Hurdles - Men's Final
5:30 p.m. 400-Meter Dash - Women's Final
5:35 p.m. 400-Meter Dash - Men's Final
5:45 p.m. 100-Meter Dash - Women's Final
5:50 p.m. 100-Meter Dash - Men's Final
6:00 p.m. 800-Meter Run - Women's Final
6:05 p.m. 800-Meter Run - Men's Final
6:15 p.m. 400-Meter Hurdles - Women's Final
6:20 p.m. 400-Meter Hurdles - Men's Final
6:30 p.m. 200-Meter Dash - Women's Final
6:35 p.m. 200-Meter Dash - Men's Final
6:45 p.m. 5000-Meter Run - Women's Final
7:10 p.m. 5000-Meter Run - Men's Final
7:35 p.m. 1600-Meter Relay - Women's Final
7:45 p.m. 1600-Meter Relay - Men's Final
8:05 p.m. Awards Ceremony