EUGENE, Ore. – At the conclusion of four days of competition, student-athletes from the American Athletic Conference registered a combined eight All-America first team finishes and one podium placement during the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Division I Track & Field Championships on June 8-11 at Hayward Field.
Taran Taylor secured fourth place for Wichita State in the men’s javelin final, unleashing an American Athletic Conference record throw of 78.76m (258-5.0) in the sixth and final round to lock up First-Team All-America honors. Teammate Michael Bryan added the best league mark in the men’s hammer throw on his way to fifth place, opening the finals flight with a 71.56m (234-9.0) effort to join Taylor on the top All-America team.
Other top American finishers from finals action on the opening night of the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships were pole vaulters Antonio Ruiz from Houston (12th place, 5.40m/17-8.5) and Cole Riddle from Memphis (14th place, 5.30m/17-4.5), who each secured Second Team All-America scrolls.
East Carolina pole vaulter Sommer Knight concluded her standout career with an eighth-place finish in the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.30m/14-1.25 to capture First Team All-America accolades. Knight was the national third-place finisher in the event in 2021.
Houston’s Naomi Taylor enjoyed a successful final race in the women’s 100 hurdles, crossing the finish line in 10th place with a time of 12.97 to lock up Second Team All-America honors.
The top overall seed in the men’s 4x100-meter relay following preliminary action, the Houston lineup of Jordan Booker, Dylan Brown, Edward Sumler IV and Shaun Maswanganyi ran a season-best time of 38.64 to capture third place and a bronze medal. The Cougars were previously the NCAA champion in the event in 2017 and 2018 to go along with a runner-up showing during the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Maswanganyi added a pair of All-America performances in individual sprint distances, clocking a time of 20.26 in the men’s 100-meter dash final to finish ninth before running the men’s 200-meter dash in 20.51 to place sixth. Maswanganyi has earned six combined All-America citations (five first team) in his first two career starts outdoors at the NCAA Championships.
Teammate Quivell Jordan-Bacot closed his Houston career with a career-best fifth-place showing in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line with a championship heat time of 49.52. Jordan-Bacot landed on one of the top two All-America teams in the 400 hurdles in each of his final three NCAA Outdoor Championship starts.
South Florida’s Romaine Beckford finished in 13th place in his first career NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance, clearing 2.15m/7-0.5 in the men’s high jump. Beckford’s performance landed him on the All-America second team, the first male Bulls athlete to earn All-America honors at the outdoor national meet since Matthew O’Neal in the triple jump (2014-16).
Michael Power from Tulsa was the last American athlete to take part in a men’s final, placing sixth in the men’s 5000-meter run with a time of 13.31.23 to end the season as a First Team All-American.
The UCF women’s 4x100-meter relay lineup of Rayniah Jones, Ciara Holback, Beyonce Defreitas and I’Asia Wilson gathered First Team All-America accolades with a seventh-place final time of 43.69. It was the best finish in the 4x100 relay for the Knights since the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Cincinnati standout Ellie Leather wrapped up a sensational career with the Bearcats with an 11th-place showing in the women’s 1500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 4:13.37 to snag a Second Team All-America citation. Leather was a three-time All-American during her time at Cincinnati, adding both First (2022) and Second (2021) Team All-America showings in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
UCF’s Brittany Floyd capped a record year in the women’s heptathlon by scoring 5,410 points to finish 16th and land on the All-America second team. Floyd was the first Knight to qualify for the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in program history, gaining seven spots in the standings on the final day of the meet to move up to the number 16 position.
AMERICAN ATHLETES AT THE 2022 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8
Cincinnati
Steven McElroy; Men’s 400-Meter Dash (19th Place, 46.30, Honorable Mention All-America)
Houston
Jordan Booker, Dylan Brown, Edward Sumler IV, Shaun Maswanganyi; Men’s 4x100-Meter Relay (38.66, Top Finals Seed)
Trey Johnson, Tyrell Valentine, Jordan Booker and Quivell Jordan-Bacot; Men’s 4X400-Meter Relay (22nd Place, 3:07.60, Honorable Mention All-America)
Quivell Jordan-Bacot; Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles (13th Place, 13.75, Second Team All-America), Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles (49.52, Sixth Finals Seed)
Shaun Maswanganyi; Men’s 100-Meter Dash (10.15, Fifth Finals Seed), Men’s 200-Meter Dash (20.26, Fifth Finals Seed)
Edward Sumler IV; Men’s 100-Meter Dash (20th Place, 10.30, Honorable Mention All-America), Men’s 200-Meter Dash (23rd Place, 20.86, Honorable Mention All-America)
De’Vion Wilson; Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles (24th Place, 14.53, Honorable Mention All-America)
Finals Of Men’s Events
Houston
Antonio Ruiz; Men’s Pole Vault (12th Place, 5.40m/17-8.5, Second Team All-America)
Memphis
Cole Riddle; Men’s Pole Vault (14th Place, 5.30m/17-4.5, Second Team All-America)
Robby Watson; Men’s Hammer Throw (23rd Place, 65.24m/214-0, Honorable Mention All-America)
Wichita State
Michael Bryan; Men’s Hammer Throw (Fifth Place, Conference Record 71.56m/234-9.0, First Team All-America)
Taran Taylor; Men’s Javelin (Fourth Place, Conference Record 78.76m/258-5.0, First Team All-America)
AMERICAN ATHLETES AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – THURSDAY, JUNE 9
UCF
Rayniah Jones, Ciara Holback, Beyonce Defreitas, I’Asia Wilson; Women’s 4x100-Meter Relay (43.22, Eighth Finals Seed)
Rayniah Jones; Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (12.95, Eighth Finals Seed)
Cincinnati
Ellie Leather; Women’s 1500-Meter Run (4:14.20, Sixth Finals Seed)
Houston
Naomi Taylor; Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (10th Place, 12.97, Second Team All-America)
South Florida
Shaneylix Davila; Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (20th Place, 13.31, Honorable Mention All-America)
Sanique Walker; Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles (17th Place, 58.42, Honorable Mention All-America)
Finals Of Women’s Events
Cincinnati
Leonie Troeger; Women’s Javelin (21st Place, 50.34m/165-2.0, Honorable Mention All-America)
East Carolina
Sommer Knight; Women’s Pole Vault (Eighth Place, 4.30m/14-1.25, First Team All-America)
Memphis
DeeNia McMiller; Women’s Hammer Throw (19th Place, 64.36m/211-2.0, Honorable Mention All-America)
South Florida
Shaniya Benjamin; Women’s Long Jump (20th Place, 5.90m/19-4.25, Honorable Mention All-America)
AMERICAN ATHLETES AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Finals Of Women’s Events
UCF
Brittany Floyd; Women’s Heptathlon (23rd Place, 2,308 Points)
Finals Of Men’s Events
Houston
Jordan Booker, Dylan Brown, Edward Sumler IV, Shaun Maswanganyi; Men’s 4x100-Meter Relay (Third Place, 38.64, First Team All-America)
Quivell Jordan-Bacot; Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles (Fifth Place, 49.52, First Team All-America)
Shaun Maswanganyi; Men’s 100-Meter Dash (Ninth Place, 10.26, Second Team All-America), Men’s 200-Meter Dash (Sixth Place, 20.51, First Team All-America)
South Florida
Romaine Beckford; Men’s High Jump (13th Place, 2.15m/7-0.5, Second Team All-America)
Tulsa
Michael Power; Men’s 5000-Meter Run (Sixth Place, 13:31.23, First Team All-America)
AMERICAN ATHLETES AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – SATURDAY, JUNE 11
Finals Of Women’s Events
UCF
Rayniah Jones, Ciara Holback, Beyonce Defreitas, I’Asia Wilson; Women’s 4x100-Meter Relay (Seventh Place, 43.69, First Team All-America)
Adrienne Adams; Women’s Discus (20th Place, 46.06m/151-1.0, Honorable Mention All-America)
Asherah Collins; Women’s Triple Jump (17th Place, 12.88m/42-3.25, Honorable Mention All-America)
Brittany Floyd; Women’s Heptathlon (16th Place, 5,410 Points)
Rayniah Jones; Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (DQ)
Cincinnati
Ellie Leather; Women’s 1500-Meter Run (11th Place, 4:13.37, Second Team All-America)