Criticos, Pryke At NCAA Championships This Week

NCAA Championships Live Results

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis track and field's Michael Criticos and Ashley Pryke earned berths in the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which are June 7-10 in Eugene, Ore. Historic Hayward Field, located on the University of Oregon campus, is the site for the annual national meet.

Criticos, a junior, and Pryke, a sophomore, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the men's and women's javelin, respectively. Both earned their spots for the national meet at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Lexington, Ky., May 25.

Criticos throws in the men's javelin event that starts Wednesday, June 7 at 7:45 p.m. (CT). On Thursday, June 8 at the same time (7:45 p.m. CT), Pryke competes in the women's javelin.

Tigers Tidbits on Criticos

Second NCAA Championships trip in the men's javelin, as he also competed in the event in 2015 (placed 13^th)
Advanced to the 2017 NCAA Championships after a fifth-place throw at the NCAA East Preliminaries (top-12 advance)
Enters the 2017 NCAA Championships ranked among the top-35 nationally in the men's javelin
Earned U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-America honorable mention distinction in 2015
School record holder in the men's javelin with a 235-9 (71.85m) throw at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships
Won the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships men's javelin crown (gold)
Runner-up (silver) in the men's javelin at the 2015 and 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships
Three-time All-American Athletic Conference honoree in the men's javelin
For his career to date, has 21 top-three performances in the men's javelin, including 13 titles
Prior to the NCAA East Preliminaries this outdoor season, placed in top-two in eight men's javelin events, including six crowns
Best throw in 2017 was a 226-7 (69.06m) effort at Southeast Missouri's Joey Haines Invitational

Tigers Tidbits on Pryke

Makes her NCAA Outdoor Championships debut Thursday
Advanced to the NCAA Championships after an eighth-place throw at the NCAA East Preliminaries (top-12 advance)
Earned her trip to the national meet on her first throw at the NCAA East Preliminaries and waived her final two attempts
School record holder in the women's javelin with a 181-0 (55.18m) throw at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships
Won the women's javelin title (gold) at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships
Enters the 2017 NCAA Championships with the nation's seventh-best javelin mark (181-0; 55.18m)
Two-time All-American Athletic Conference in the women's javelin
Placed third (bronze) in the women's javelin as a freshman at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships
For her career to date, has 12 top-three finishes in the women's javelin, including nine titles
Prior to the NCAA East Preliminaries, won all eight women's javelin competitions this outdoor season
Set the school record in the women's javelin as a freshman in 2016 with a 160-10 (49.03m) throw and then re-set her own school mark three times in 2017 (175-3/53.41m at Rhodes Invitational; 177-5/54.09m at Arkansas State's Red Wolves Open; 181-0/55.18m at American Athletic Conference Championships)
Qualified for this summer's World University Games in Taiwan with her throw at the 2017 Rhodes Invitation in mid-March; World University Games are in mid-to-late August

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michael Criticos

Ashley Pryke

University of Memphis Athletics