Track and Field Preview: NCAA Championships

Wednesday, June 5

Austin, Texas

4 pm CT

University of Memphis

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Matthew Kamph

Jun 04, 2019 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Tigers to vie for titles in Texas this week.

NCAA Championships Live Results

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The site may be different, but intensity and excitement are as present as ever this week when a school record-tying nine University of Memphis track and field athletes travel to the state of Texas for the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The NCAA Championships have recently resided in Tracktown USA at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The University of Oregon hosted the last six NCAA Outdoor Championships and seven of the past nine meets. The Ducks' facility, though, is undergoing renovations, so the University of Texas hosts this year's national meet. The last time Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium hosted the NCAA Outdoor Championships was in 2004.

The nine Tigers competing in this week's NCAA meet ties the number Memphis took to last year's championships.

Memphis Schedule at 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships

Day	Time (CT)	Event	Memphis Qualifier
Wednesday (time schedule changes due to weather)	4:02 p.m.	Men's 4x100m Relay (semifinal)	DeMoss/Persiado/Austin III/Bishop
	4:32 p.m.	Men's 3000m Steeplechase (semifinal)	Julian Sanchez-Pinto
	5:16 p.m.	Men's 100m (semifinal)	Davon DeMoss
Thursday	8:15 p.m.	Women's Javelin	Mona Jaidi
			Ashley Pryke
	8:30 p.m.	Women's Long Jump	Tanalya Gordon
Friday	7:05 p.m.	Men's Discus	Adar Sheere
	7:32 p.m.	Men's 4x100m Relay (final; if advance)	DeMoss/Persiado/Austin III/Bishop
	7:54 p.m.	Men's 3000m Steeplechase (final; if advance)	Julian Sanchez-Pinto
	8:22 p.m.	Men's 100m (semifinal)	Davon DeMoss

Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
(On the mix of veterans and newcomers going to the NCAA Championships)
"We have a good mix of NCAA veterans and newcomers, and that mix spices things up a little. But, it doesn't matter if you're a freshman or a senior, this meet has the best of the best, and we've got to be ready to compete.

"It's really exciting any time you have a freshman qualify for this meet (NCAA Championships). Tanalya (Gordon) and Adar (Sheere) both being freshmen and making it to this meet, that says a lot. The regional set-up is very difficult, and to have the competitive maturity to perform at your best at that young of an age and when you've never been exposed to that stage before, that says a lot about those two.

"For Ashley (Pryke), this is her third trip to this meet. She's going in with some pretty high expectations. She's performed well at this meet in the past, so she's going in knowing what to expect. I feel she'll handle the moment well. Calvin (Austin III) also returns to the championships, as he ran in the relay last year. He's had a little taste of what it's like."

(On competing at a new venue for NCAA Championships)
"You can't beat a track meet at Eugene. It's amazing. The energy and electricity of the crowd; it's the Super Bowl for track and field there.

"The venue at Austin is an exceptional facility. They hosted the NCAA meet in the past and have done an incredible job. In terms of preparations, it's going to be a lot hotter in Austin than in Eugene. We have to be ready to handle the heat and humidity. Most of the events, though, are in the evening so that should help. The bottom line is we have to go and compete. It's us against the tape, it's us against the time, it's us against the NCAA (field). Let's go."

Tigers Tidbits

The nine total athletes – including relays – competing at the NCAA Championships ties a program record since the NCAA went to the regional qualifying format in 2001. The Tigers also sent nine total athletes last year. However, the six individual athletes – excluding relays – are the second-most for Memphis at the NCAA Championships. The Tigers sent a school-record seven individual performers to the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Since the NCAA moved to the regional qualifying format in 2001, the Tigers had two freshmen advance to the national meet for the first time. Tanalya Gordon (women's long jump) and Adar Sheere (men's discus) are competing in Austin this week.
Davon DeMoss and Ashley Pryke are the only Tigers making return trips to Austin, Texas, in their careers. DeMoss (men's 4x100m/4x400m relays) and Pryke (women's javelin) competed in the 2018 Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium. DeMoss was a member of the record-setting 4x400-meter relay (3:08.80) at the time, breaking the previous mark set in 1978. The 4x400-meter relay record has since been improved to its current mark of 3:07.34. Pryke placed fifth in the women's javelin at the 2018 Texas Relays.
When he takes to the track Wednesday, Davon DeMoss will become the first sprinter in program history to race at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the same campaign since 1982. DeMoss, who ran in the men's 60 meters at the NCAA Indoors in March, is scheduled to compete in the men's 100 meters Wednesday. The last Tigers sprinter to run in both national meets in the same year was Victor Lacey, who raced in the NCAA indoor (men's 440 yards) and outdoor (men's 400 meters) meets in 1982.
Calvin Austin III and Ashley Pryke are the only two Tigers making return trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Last year, Austin was a member of the men's 4x400-meter relay team that placed 17^thand earned All-America honorable mention honors. The relay also improved its school record to 3:07.34. Pryke placed seventh in the women's javelin and took home All-America first team accolades for a second-straight year.
On Thursday, Ashley Pryke vies for her third-straight outdoor All-America first team honor. She is a two-time All-America first teamer, posting top-eight finishes in 2017 (3^rd) and 2018 (7^th). Pryke is the women's program's only two-time All-America first team honoree. With an All-America honor (first or second team) this week, Pryke would be the second female athlete in program history with three All-America accolades. Carolina Carmichael earned three-straight All-America second team accolades in the women's pole vault from 2014-16.
Six Tigers heading to the NCAA Championships hold school records. The school record holders are: Calvin Austin III (men's 4x100m relay), Andrew Bishop (men's 4x100m relay), Davon DeMoss (men's 4x100m relay), Tanalya Gordon (women's long jump), Mona Jaidi (women's discus), and Ashley Pryke (women's javelin). Five of those six athletes set their school records in 2019. Jaidi's women's discus school record was set in the 2018 outdoor campaign.