Track and Field Vies For Conference Crowns This Weekend

Friday, February 23

Birmingham, Ala.

All Day

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Michael Wade

Track and Field Vies For Conference Crowns This Weekend

Feb 22, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

2018 league indoor meet set for Birmingham Friday and Saturday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's here! Championships weekend for the University of Memphis track and field teams is Friday-Saturday, Feb. 23-24 in Birmingham, Ala. The Birmingham Crossplex is the site for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships for the third-consecutive year.

Memphis is one of eight programs competing for the men's crown, while all 12 league schools are vying for the women's championship. At the 2017 conference indoor championships, Memphis placed fourth on the men's side and seventh on the women's.

Head coach Kevin Robinson
"This season has been tough injury-wise, and that's the nature of our sport. Sometimes you get lucky and stay healthy and sometimes you don't. We've been bitten by the hamstring bug the last three weeks, and we've also had a flu or virus that's rolled through the team. So, we're not as strong heading into this conference meet. Some of our key performers are not going to be there, including three conference title holders, because of injury or illness. When you are down those key athletes, it can affect the team's performance.

"With that being said, we're not going to lay down and take it. We're going to fight. The athletes competing are ready. We've got some great kids ready to do some great things. Unfortunately, we're not taking our whole squad, but those competing this weekend are going to bring it. We're going to go in and battle and leave it all on the track."

Team Scoring
The 2018 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships is a scoring team meet.

Competing Schools
Women: Cincinnati, Connecticut, ECU, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USF, Wichita State
Men: Cincinnati, Connecticut, ECU, Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, USF, Wichita State

Tigers Tidbits/What To Watch For

The Tigers men's 4x400 meter relay looks to continue its success at the conference meet in Birmingham. In 2016, the relay set a then-school record in finishing second in the event. At the 2017 championships, the Tigers relay won the 4x400 meter crown. This season to date, Memphis has re-set the school record three times in the event, and the Tigers' 3:08.46 time (current school record) is the league's second-best heading into this weekend's championships.
The Tigers men's squad enters the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships down three champions. LaForrest Church (800m; 2016), Olushola Olojo (triple jump; 2017) and Jordan Wesner (high jump; 2017) all won conference crowns the past two seasons, but are not competing as a result of injuries this weekend. In fact, all three have not competed in an indoor meet in 2017-18.
Davon DeMoss and Cera Chavez are expected to contend for league titles in both the men's and women's 60 and 200 meters, respectively. Last season, DeMoss set school records in both men's events, and in 2017-18, Chavez did the same in both women's races. DeMoss set his school mark in the 200 meters (21.18) in the event's preliminaries at the 2017 conference meet. Chavez ran a school-record 23.97 seconds in the women's 200 meters earlier this season in the KMS Invitational at the Birmingham Crossplex, the site of this weekend's championships.
In the throws, Luke Vaughn vies for the title in the men's shot put, while DeeNia McMiller does so in the women's weight throw. Vaughn enters the meet with the league's second-best shot put mark at 58-9.25 (17.91m), and he set the school record in the event with his third-place finish a year ago (59-7; 18.16m). Vaughn also competes in the men's weight throw at the league meet. He placed second in the event at the 2015 championships. McMiller throws in her first American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships this weekend. She enters the meet with the league's fourth-best effort in the women's weight throw (62-11.5; 19.19m). McMiller also throws in the women's shot put at the meet.
Saida Burns-Moore (high, triple) and Nicole Lawson (triple) lead the jumps group into the league championships. In the triple jump, both are tied for the conference's sixth-best mark at 40-4.25 (12.30m). Lawson has jumped 39 feet or better in each meet this season, while Burns-Moore has three efforts of over 40 feet. In the high jump, Burns-Moore has the conference's sixth-best mark at 5-7 (1.70m). Her 5-7 (1.70m) effort at last week's Southeast Missouri Redhawks Open tied her personal-best.

National Indoor Performance Lists (top-50)
28. Men's 4x400m relay (DeMoss, Austin, Champlin, Pasley)/3:08.46*
35. Davon DeMoss/men's 60m/6.69
37. Cera Chavez/women's 60 meters/7.37*

Conference Indoor Performance Lists (top-3)
2. Luke Vaughn/men's shot put/58-9.25 (17.91m)
2. Men's 4x400m relay (DeMoss, Austin, Champlin, Pasley)/3:08.46*
3. Cera Chavez/women's 60 meters/7.37*
3. Davon DeMoss/men's 60m/6.69
3. Ryan Champlin/men's 400m/47.34
3. Rafael Vallery/men's shot put/58-0.25 (17.68m)
3. Men's distance medley relay (Ballard, Pasley, Viveiros, Kamph)/10:13.73
*school record