IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to return to the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. The 2023 American championships are scheduled for Feb. 24-25 on ESPN+ with Hayden Cox and Trevor Fulkerson on the call.
 
AMERICAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO THE BIRMINGHAM CROSSPLEX
The American Indoor Track & Field Championships will return to the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. for a seventh straight championship. The American Indoor Track & Field Championships have been held at the CrossPlex for each season dating back to 2016. It was held in New York in 2014 and 2015, while 2020 was canceled. 2022 NCAA competitors expected in the 2023 American championship field are UCF's Rayniah Jones (11^th in women's 60m dash, 7.21; 3^rd in women's 60m hurdle, 7.95) and Latasha Smith (14^th in women's 400m dash, 53.92), Houston's Priscilla Adejokun (12^th in women's weight throw, 21.65m) and Christyan Sampy (13^th in men's pole vault, 5.35m), and South Florida's Romaine Beckford (15^th in men's high jump, 2.10m).
 
HOUSTON MEN IN SEARCH OF EIGHTH STRAIGHT TITLE, UCF WOMEN CHASING BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
The longtime men's standard bearer at the American Indoor Track & Field Championships, Houston travels to Birmingham in search of its eighth consecutive conference first-place trophy. The Cougars have won every men's title at the meet dating back to 2015. Houston tallied a total of 141.5 points at the 2022 edition of the American championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
In the women's competition, UCF will look to win back-to-back championships and their third overall as a program (2017, 2022). They are currently tied with Houston and UConn for the most championships with two. The Knights set a meet record in the 2022 edition of The American championships, scoring a total of 156.5 points to claim the trophy. Latasha Smith set a meet record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.32, Rayniah Jones set the top mark in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.90, and Brittany Floyd scored the most points in the Pentathlon with 3.993.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETES SHATTERING CONFERENCE RECORDS
Multiple American Athletic Conference all-time records have fallen this season throughout the conference. On the men's side, Houston's De'Vion Wilson broke Marcus McWilliams (Houston) 60-meter hurdle time of 7.71 set in 2016 by two-tenths of a second, running a time of 7.69 at the Houston Invitational. Memphis's Cole Riddle cleared a height of 5.64m in pole vault, breaking Adrian Valles (Cincinnati) previous mark of 5.61m set in 2018. Cincinnati had two shot putters break the previous record of 18.73m held by Houston's Triston Gibbons in 2021. Giovanni Guiterrez threw a distance of 18.75m, while Fred Moudani shattered the record with a throw of 20.51m at the Doc Hale VT Meet.
 
On the women's side, Kelly-Ann Beckford of Houston set a new conference mark in the 800-meter, cruising with a time of 2:02.59 at the Arkansas Qualifier on February 17. Her time broke the previous mark of 2:03.94 held by Susan Aneno of UConn, set in 2019. Cincinnati's Rylee Penn broke the 1-Mile record set by Ellie Leather (Cincinnati) last season at the championships, running a time of 4:34.44 at the Music City Challenge on February 10. She also broke the 3,000-meter record at the same meet with a time of 9:12.44, breaking Temple's Blanca Fernandez's time of 9:16.24 set in 2015. In high jump, Cincinnati's Taylor Beard broke the mark of Loretta Blaut (Cincinnati) set in 2019 by one meter, clearing 1.88m at the Music City Challenge. South Florida's Nia Robinson crushed the long jump record with a mark of 6.42m, previously held by Houston's Samiyah Samuels (6.27; 2019). Wichita State's Destiny Masters and Tulane's Kristen O'Handley both broke the pentathlon points record set by UCF's Brittany Floyd last season. Masters totaled 4,064 points (adjusted for track size) at the Wichita State Herm Wilson Invitational, while O'Handley totaled 4,062 points at the Crimson Elite.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETES IN THE NCAA DIVISION I RANKINGS
The latest NCAA DI indoor performance list features many American athletes included among the nation's best entering this week's indoor track & field conference championships. Houston's Shaun Maswanganyi checked in at 27th in the men's 60-meter dash, posting a 6.64 at the Tyson Invitational on February 10. Teammates De'Vion Wilson and DJ Akindele are both in the top 40 in the 60-meter hurdles. Wilson is 8^th with a time of 7.69, while Akindele is 38^th with a time of 7.78, both times came at the Houston Invitational on January 27. Steven McElroy of Cincinnati comes in at 33^rd in the 400-meter with a time of 46.44 at the Bob Pollock meet on January 27. Tulsa runners Scott Beattie and Michael Power are both ranked in the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter run. Beattie is 20^th in the 5,000 with a time of 13:32.38 and 28^th in the 3,000 with a time of 7:50.10. Power checks in at 30^th in the 3,000 with a time of 7:50.12 and 44^th in the 5,000 with a time of 13:40.96. Wichita State has two athletes ranked in high jump with Brady Palen (5^th) clearing 2.22m and Weston Lewis (46^th) clearing 2.13m. South Florida's Romaine Beckford is tied with Palen for 5^th in the country with a height of 2.22m. Three Memphis pole vaulters are in the Top 50 with Cole Riddle (6^th) clearing a height of 5.64m, Drew O'Connor (36^th) clearing 5.30m and Evan Puckett (48^th) clearing 5.23m. Houston's Christyan Sampy (12^th) and South Florida's Kobe Babin (24^th) are both in the Top 25 of pole vault, clearing heights of 5.53m and 5.38m, respectively. In triple jump, South Florida's David Ajama is 17^th in the nation with a jump of 16.03m.  Cincinnati has two throwers ranked in shot put with Fred Moudani having the second-best throw in the nation with a distance of 20.51m. Giovanni Guitierrez is 30^th in shot put with a throw of 18.75m. Teammate Dominique Hall is 38^th in the heptathlon with 5,416 points recorded at the Bob Pollock meet on January 27, while Wichita State's Adria Navajon is 27^th with 5,587 points at the Air Force Lindeman Invitational on January 19.
 
For the women, Daija Lampkin of UCF is 42^nd in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.33 ran at the Celebration Pointe Indoor Classic on February 2. Lampkin is also 31^st in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.37. Houston's Cecilia Tamayo-Garza is 28^th in the 200 with a time of 23.30. Houston's Sydni Townsend (39^th) and UCF's Latasha Smith (46^th) are both ranked in the Top 50 in the 400-meter dash with times of 53.34 and 53.47, respectively. Kelly-Ann Beckford checks in at 9^th in the 800-meter run, clocking a time of 2:02.59. Cincinnati's Rylee Penn is 26^th in the mile, running a 4:34.44 at the Music City Challenge on February 10. UCF teammates Rayniah Jones (12^th) and Kaylor Harris (21^st) are ranked in the 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.08 and 8.15, respectively. South Florida's Shaneylix Davila is 46^th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.27, while Houston's Destiny Smith is 50^th with a time of 8.29.  Cincinnati has three high jumpers in the Top 25 with Taylor Beard (3^rd) clearing 1.88m, Annika Kinley (12^th) clearing 1.85 m and Spirit Morgan (25^th) clearing 1.82m. Wichita State's Destiny Masters joins the trio at 36^th with a height of 1.80m. Alyssa Morello of Memphis cleared a height of 4.23m in pole vault for 20^th, while Cincinnati's Abby Knouff is 24^th with a height of 4.22m. Five long jumpers rank in the Top 50 with South Florida's Nia Robinson (11^th) jumping 6.42 m, UCF's Asherah Collins (25^th) jumping 6.21m, SMU's Fuminiyi Olajide (32^nd) jumping 6.19m, South Florida's Shaniya Benjamin (40^th) jumping 6.17m, and UCF's Jasmine Scott-Kilgo (47^th) jumping 6.14m.  Collins and Scott-Kilgo are also ranked in the triple jump with Collins coming in at 26^th with a jump of 12.94m and Scott-Kilgo ranked 45^th with a jump of 12.76m. Houston's Destiny Lawrence is 31^st in the event with a jump of 12.87m. In the weight throw, Houston's Priscilla Adejokun is 20^th with a distance of 21.47m, while Amber Simpson of Memphis is 26^th with a throw of 20.81m. Three pentathlon athletes are ranked in the Top 40, including two Tulane athletes. Destiny Masters of Wichita State leads the pack with 4,064 points, while Tulane's Kristen O'Handley recorded 4,062 points and Margot Temines recorded 3,934 points, both at the Crimson Elite.
 
2023 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Schedule

Friday, February 24 (ESPN+)
Women's Pentathlon
9:00 a.m. W-Pentathlon 60m Hurdles
9:45 a.m. W-Pentathlon High Jump (2 pits)
11:30 a.m. W-Pentathlon Shot Put
12:45 p.m. W-Pentathlon Long Jump (pit A)
2:00 p.m. W-Pentathlon 800m Run

Men's Heptathlon
11:00 a.m. M-Heptathlon 60m Dash
11:45 a.m. M-Heptathlon Long Jump (pit B)
1:00 p.m. M-Heptathlon Shot Put
3:20 p.m. M-Heptathlon High Jump

Field Events
12:00 p.m. Pole Vault - Men's Trials & FINAL
2:00 p.m. Long Jump - Women's Trials & FINAL
2:15 p.m. 35 lb. Weight Throw - Men's Trials & FINAL
3:30 p.m. Pole Vault - Women's Trials & FINAL
4:00 p.m. Long Jump - Men's Trials & FINAL
4:15 p.m. 20 lb. Weight Throw - Women's Trials & FINAL

Track Events
12:25 p.m. Mile Run - Women's Trials 
12:40 p.m. Mile Run - Men's Trials
12:55 p.m. 400m Dash - Women's Trials
1:10 p.m. 400m Dash - Men's Trials
1:35 p.m. 60m Hurdles - Women's Trials
1:45 p.m. 60m Hurdles - Men's Trials
1:55 p.m. 60m Dash - Women's Trials
2:05 p.m. 60m Dash - Men's Trials
2:30 p.m. 800m Dash - Women's Trials
2:45 p.m. 800m Dash - Men's Trials
3:00 p.m. 200m Dash - Women's Trials
3:15 p.m. 200m Dash - Men's Trials
3:30 p.m. 5000m Run Unseeded - Women's
3:55 p.m. 5000m Run Unseeded - Men's
4:15 p.m. 5000m Run Seeded - Women's
4:40 p.m. 5000m Run Seeded - Men's
5:00 p.m. Distance Medley Relay - Women's
5:20 p.m. Distance Medley Relay - Men's

Saturday, February 25 (ESPN+)
Men's Heptathlon
9:00 a.m. M-Heptathlon 60m Hurdles
10:00 a.m. M-Heptathlon Pole Vault
3:05 p.m. M-Heptathlon 1000m Run

Field Events
9:45 a.m. High Jump - Men's Trials & FINAL
9:45 a.m. High Jump - Women's Trials & FINAL
10:00 a.m. Shot Put - Men's Trials & FINAL
11:00 a.m. Triple Jump - Women's Trials & FINAL (pit A)
12:30 p.m. Shot Put - Women's Trials & FINAL
1:00 p.m. Triple Jump - Men's Trials & FINAL (pit B)

Track Events
11;20 a.m. Mile Run - Women's FINAL
11:30 a.m. Mile Run - Men's FINAL
11:40 a.m. 400m Dash - Women's 2-section FINAL
11:50 a.m. 400m Dash - Men's 2-section FINAL
12:10 p.m. 60m Hurdles - Women's FINAL
12:20 p.m. 60m Hurdles - Men's FINAL
12:30 p.m. 60m Dash - Women's FINAL
12:40 p.m. 60m Dash - Men's FINAL
1:00 p.m. 800m Run - Women's FINAL
1:10 p.m. 800m Run - Men's FINAL
1:20 p.m. 200m Dash - Women's 2-section FINAL
1:30 p.m. 200m Dash - Men's 2-section FINAL
1:40 p.m. 3000m Run Unseeded - Women's
1:55 p.m. 3000m Run Unseeded - Men's 
2:10 p.m. 3000m Run Seeded - Women's
2:25 p.m. 3000m Run Seeded - Men's
2:40 p.m. 4x400m Relay - Women's
2:50 p.m. 4x400m Relay - Men's
3:20 p.m. Awards Ceremony