Track And Field To Compete In AAC Championships

Friday, May 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

All Day

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Joe Murphy

May 10, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

AAC Championships (Women Heat Sheets)AAC Championships (Men Heat Sheets)

Tigers vying for team, individual crowns this weekend.

AAC Championships (Schedule)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men's and women's track and field squads head into their postseason – or May Madness – this weekend when the Tigers travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. The University of Cincinnati is hosting the three-day meet at its on-campus facility, Gettler Stadium.

Championships weekend starts Friday, May 11 with the heptathlon and decathlon. Friday's lone field events are the men's and women's hammer (preliminaries and finals). Four running events are slated for Friday, with the only finals coming in the men's and women's 10,000 meters. The action continues Saturday-Sunday, May 12-13.

On the men's side, Memphis looks to vie for the league title after a third-place finish at last year's outdoor meet and a runner-up performance at February's indoor championships. The Tigers women's team eyes a move further into the top-half of the league after its sixth-place finish a year ago.

In addition to winning individual and team crowns, this weekend also provides the Tigers a final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries, which are May 24-26 in Tampa, Fla.

Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
"Our men's team is pretty strong. We have a really competitive group. On the men's side, we're able to compete at a high level in nearly every event. Our guys have a 'chip-on-the-shoulder' mentality, but this weekend's meet is like every other meet. If we stay healthy and continue to build on the success we've had this season, we can stack up pretty well.

"For the women's team, we've really taken off during the outdoor season in the field events, especially the jumps and throws. The distance also has done well with the addition of Martina (Rodriguez Sala). That's been huge for us.

"We're not taking big squads (men and women) to the championships. We'll probably have the smallest teams at the meet. But, we're taking a high-quality group for both men and women. The women's team is a little younger (than the men's team), with a lot of freshmen and sophomores contributing at a high level. On the men's side, we have a lot of graduating seniors. We have more leadership on the men's team, and they know more about what conference championships weekend is all about. I have a lot of faith in women athletes we're taking, and they're hungry. I feel good about both groups. It should be exciting this weekend."

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

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

Tigers Tidbits/Five "What To Watch For"

2017 Championships Review:The Tigers men's and women's squads both had successful weekends at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. The men's squad placed third for the program's third top-three performance in the first four years of The American Championships. On the women's side, the Tigers posted their highest finish at a conference meet since 1996 with their sixth-place performance last year. The Memphis women's team was third at the 1996 Conference USA Championships.
Return of the Champs:Memphis returns two conference champions from the 2017 league meet. Ashley Pryke (women's javelin) and Jordan Wesner (men's high jump) both look to defend their outdoor crowns this weekend. This outdoor season, Pryke, a 2017 All-American, won six of the seven javelin events in which she competed. Pryke won last year's conference crown with a throw of more than five feet better than the event's silver medalist. Wesner, a 2016 All-American, enters this weekend's competition with only five performances under his belt. He sat out the indoor campaign as a result of injuries and was brought back slowly during the outdoor campaign. Wesner took last year's high jump crown (7-2.5; 2.20m) by nearly six inches over the second-place finisher.
Tigers' Other Champs:Although not defending titles from the 2017 outdoor meet, the Tigers also have other champions competing this weekend. Michael Criticos (men's javelin) and Luke Vaughn (men's shot put) won titles at the 2016 outdoor championships. In recent league indoor meets, Martina Rodriguez Sala (women's mile), Olushola Olojo (men's triple jump), Jason Kimmet (men's 4x400 relay) and Kolbeinn Gunnarsson (men's 4x400 relay) won crowns and all are scheduled to compete this weekend.
A (School) Records Reset: From the numbers, the Tigers track and field squads are doing quite well in spite of the inclement weather they've faced most of the spring. Heading into the American Athletic Conference Championships, Memphis has set eight outdoor school records combined (six women/two men). Last season, the Tigers had five school marks. In 2016, Memphis had 11 school records set in the outdoor campaign.
Top-Three Tigers: To have a shot at team titles at conference meets, squads need high-level scoring – finish in the top-three – in as many events as possible. Heading into this weekend, the Tigers are in a good position on the men's side. The Memphis men's squad has representation in the top-three in 10 events, including two events (shot put, discus) with two athletes in the top-three. For the women, the Tigers are in the top-three in five events.