Track And Field At AAC Indoor Championships This Weekend

Friday, February 24

Birmingham, Ala.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Track And Field At AAC Indoor Championships This Weekend

Feb 23, 2017 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Two-day meet to be held in Birmingham.

American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Central

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It is championship time for the University of Memphis men's and women's track and field squads as they travel to Birmingham, Ala., for this weekend's American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. The two-day conference championships run Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-25.

The Birmingham Crossplex, site of the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, is hosting the league meet for a second-consecutive year.

Memphis is one of seven programs vying for the men's championship. On the women's side, all 11 schools compete in indoor track and field. At last season's championships, the Tigers men's team placed fifth, and the women finished seventh.

Robinson on this weekend's American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships:
"Our indoor season has gone well, and it's taken us the bulk of the season to get rolling. That's typically the case for us during the indoor season with the time we are mandated to take off for the Christmas break. We've progressed and gotten better with each meet.

"At our last full team meet two weeks ago, the squad competed at a high level, and it created some momentum for us heading into the conference championships.

"I feel we are ready, but this is a very challenging and competitive meet. We've got a lot of young athletes that we're counting on. Much of our team will see a lot of 'firsts' this weekend, but we've got some momentum and we have some athletes that are hungry and motivated. We'll be ready to compete at our best this weekend."

The following is this weekend's meet information:

Team Scoring:
The 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships is a scoring team meet.

Competing Schools:
Women: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USF
Men: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, USF

Tigers Tidbits/Five "What To Watch For":

Defending the crown: Memphis has two performers defending their 2016 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships crowns this weekend. LaForrest Church (men's 800m) and Martina Rodriguez Sala (women's mile) both won titles last season and are one of the league favorites in this year's events. Church enters this weekend's action with the conference's third-best 800m time at 1:50.35, and Rodriguez Sala has the league's top time in the mile at 4:44.92.
All-conference returnees: In addition to Church and Rodriguez Sala, Memphis returns three other performers that earned All-American Athletic Conference honors at last year's meet. Chardae Greenlee (women's triple jump), Olushola Olojo (men's long jump, men's triple jump) and Jordan Wesner (men's high jump) all posted second-place finishes in their respective events and earned all-league accolades.
Carry on heptathlon tradition: Since the American Athletic Conference started four years ago, a Tigers men's multi-event athlete has stood at the top of the podium at the first three league indoor championships. The winner of the conference's first three heptathlons was former standout Luis Hanssler. Now, that mantle is passed to freshmen Simon Hosten and Lennard Biere. Hosten won the heptathlon at the Feb. 3-4 Southern Illinois/Don DeNoon Invitational with a school-record 5,496 points. Biere was third with 3,994 points, but did not score in the final two events.
Record-setting pace: In addition to Hosten's record in the men's heptathlon, Memphis set five more records this indoor campaign. Sophomore Davon DeMoss now holds school marks in both the men's 60m and 200m, and junior Chelsea Ladd shattered the previous women's 5000m record. Rodriguez Sala broke her own school record in the women's mile twice in 2016-17. The Tigers distance medley relay of LaForrest Church, Matthew Viveiros, Matthew Kamph and Jason Kimmet set a school record in the event that had stood since 1980.
Vaughn going for two: Senior Luke Vaughn will vie for a couple of titles this weekend. Vaughn has the league's third-best throws in both shot put (59-2.25; 18.04m) and weight throw (61-10.5; 18.86m). Two seasons ago in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, he placed second in the weight throw (personal-best 61-11.75; 18.89m) and third in the shot put (57-5.5; 17.51m).