Tigers Track And Field Heads To The American Championships

Thursday, May 12

Orlando, Fla.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Nikki Boertman

Tigers Track And Field Heads To The American Championships

May 11, 2016 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Conference meet runs May 12-15 in Orlando, Fla.

American Athletic Conference Championships Central
American Athletic Conference Championships Live Stream

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's May Madness for the University of Memphis men's and women's track and field squads this weekend, as they compete at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships May 12-15 in Orlando, Fla. UCF is hosting the conference meet at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex.

Although Thursday's action begins at 10 a.m. (CT) with hammer throw, the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon are the day's highlighted events. Both competitions hold half of their events Thursday. The men's and women's 10,000-meter runs wrap up the first day of action.

Friday has the conclusion of the heptathlon and decathlon, along with the trials of several running events. The men's and women's discus and women's pole vault also are scheduled Friday. The final two days are preliminaries and finals for the remaining running and field events.

The Tigers men's and women's squads look to improve on their fifth-place performances from a year ago. The men's team placed fifth, but was just 10 points from a top-three finish.

Leading the way for the Tigers men's team are returning outdoor champions Luke Vaughn in the discus and Luis Hanssler in the decathlon. Hanssler is the American Athletic Conference two-time defending decathlon champion, and Vaughn won last year's discus title with a personal-best 190-8 (58.13m) toss.

Also returning for the men's squad are Michael Criticos and Kyle Bynum, both of who placed in the top-four in the javelin last year. Criticos was The American's javelin runner-up, and Bynum placed fourth.

Memphis enters the conference meet with opportunities to score in several events. Criticos leads The American with the top javelin mark of 233-5 (71.16m), which is also 25^th in the nation. His 233-5 javelin mark is a school record. Freshman Jordan Wesner has the league's second-best high jump mark (7-0.5; 2.15m), and his mark is 36^th nationally and fifth among the nation's freshmen.

Others that look to figure in the men's scoring are freshman Davon DeMoss (100m), junior LaForrest Church (800m) and Corentin Louis (1500m). All three rank in the top-five in their respective events in The American.

On the women's side, Carolina Carmichael and Chardae Greenlee look to defend their respective 2015 titles. Carmichael is The American's two-time defending champion in the pole vault, and Greenlee won last year's triple jump. Clara Amat-Fernandez, who won the 2016 conference indoor pole vault title, finished second behind Carmichael at last year's league outdoor meet.

Other top finishers at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championships were Martine Bye in the javelin (2^nd) and heptathlon (3^rd) and Martina Rodriguez Sala in the 1500 meters (3^rd).

The Tigers women bring a strong presence in the field events to this year's championships. Memphis enters this weekend's meet with two of the league's top pole vault marks. Carmichael is first in The American and seventh nationally with her 14-6.75 (4.44m) mark, and Amat-Fernandez is third in the conference and 36^th nationally (13-8.25; 4.17m).

In addition, the Memphis women have the league's second-best triple jump (Greenlee) and javelin (Ashley Pryke) and the conference's third-best long jump (Sydney Wright). Greenlee's 42-6 (12.95m) triple jump is 28^th nationally, and Wright has the country's 54^th-best long jump (20-2.25; 6.15m). Pryke's school-record 160-10 (49.03m) javelin throw is 35^th nationally and eighth-best among the nation's freshmen.

Rodriguez Sala has the conference's top 1500 meters time with a school-record 4:20.46. Her time is 56^th nationally.