Track And Field Preview: The American Championships

Friday, February 28

Birmingham, Ala.

9 am CT

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Don Claussen

Track And Field Preview: The American Championships

Feb 27, 2020 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

The American Indoors (Men's Heat Sheets)The American Indoors (Women's Heat Sheets)

Tigers vying for the league crown in Birmingham this weekend.

The American Championships Central
Live Coverage
Live Results

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis track and field squad is "on the road" this weekend for the 2020 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29. However, it should feel like "home" for the Tigers. Action each day begins at 9 a.m. (CT).

The American Championships are being held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., a place that the Tigers have competed at three times already this indoor campaign. Memphis opened its 2019-20 indoor season at the Birmingham-Southern Icebreaker Dec. 6 and also competed in the KMS Invitational Jan. 26 and Jaguar Invitational Feb. 2. All three meets were held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
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Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
(On going back to Birmingham again)
"Yes, the Birmingham Crossplex has become a second home for us. It's a great facility, and it's only three hours away for us. Having a championships that close is nice. As we near the end of the indoor season – which has been all of four weeks for us – we're excited to compete. Championships week is always an exciting time. We're prepared. We're going there to mix it up and have some fun."

(On the frequent trips to Birmingham this indoor season)
"This weekend is our fourth trip to the Birmingham CrossPlex this season. It's not necessarily what I wanted, but it's the schedule we ended up with. But it does give our track athletes opportunities to get on a 200-meter banked surface. It's something that takes some time to get used to. I don't like going to the same place week-in and week-out because I feel like it makes us a little stale. But there's no staleness at the championships. We'd better be ready to bring it."

(On the throws group)
"I definitely expect our throws group to do well. Obviously, we take nothing for granted. We have a strong squad, and we're talented. That's also why we compete. It's doesn't matter what's on paper going in. What matters is what we do when it counts. The expectation for that group is high. I expect that group to make some noise."

(On the multis)
"We have two freshmen multis in Lea and Marietta. This is their first multi-competition with us. I'm anxious to see how they stack up. They've done some individual events over the course of the season. They've had a few bumps and bruises, but they're healthy and ready to go."

(On the men's, women's high jumps)
"Jordy (Jordan Wesner) is a pretty special kid. He's struggled a little bit with his approach this season. The kid can fly. I'm pretty confident when push comes to shove, he's going to be ready.

"Ladasia has come on really strong for us. We started to see it at the end of last outdoor season. I give her credit. She worked really hard this fall. She was at the complex every day over Christmas break. She really wants to be good, and she's starting to see some success. I'm really proud of that kid."

(On Calvin Austin III in the men's sprints)
"Calvin has a shot. He's performed well at this meet the last two seasons. We have a couple of sprinters that can step up and do some really good things.

"I'm excited to see how we compete. That's the biggest thing for me. Are we going to show up and compete? Or are we going to just show up?"

Team Scoring
The 2019 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

The Tigers men's squad is looking to continue its momentum from its last two conference indoor meets. Memphis placed second in 2018 and third in 2019. In fact, the Tigers placed third by just a point behind second-place Wichita State in 2019. If it places in the top three this weekend, Memphis would post its third-straight top three performance at a league meet since the mid-1990s in the Great Midwest Conference (GMC). In their four years in that conference, the Tigers placed second twice (1992, 1993) and third twice (1994, 1995).
The Memphis women's squad's top finish since joining The American in 2013 was a fifth-place showing at the 2015 championships.
From a travel roster standpoint, the Tigers have nine All-America Athletic Conference performers at this weekend's meet. They are Noah Agnew (men's high jump), Calvin Austin III (men's 4x400m relay), Cyera Gordon (women's long jump), Kolbeinn Gunnarsson (men's distance medley relay), DeeNia McMiller (women's weight throw), Adar Sheere (men's weight throw), Jordan Wesner (men's high jump), Tate Wyatt (men's distance medley relay) and Zachary Wyatt (men's distance medley relay; men's mile).
The Memphis men's distance medley relay, which won gold last year, will be severely hampered by injuries this weekend. Tate and Zachary Wyatt, two members of last year's relay, are not expected to run.
The Tigers are looking to become the second program in The American to sweep the men's and women's high jumps (Cincinnati in 2018). Jordan Wesner (men) and Ladasia Walton (women) have the top indoor jumps in their respective events heading into the championships.
Memphis is looking to earn some points in the women's throws in Birmingham. Heading into this weekend, the Tigers women's throws group has three of the top five marks in the shot put and five of the top 10 in the weight throw.
Not to be overshadowed, the Memphis men's throws squad is looking to do the same. The Tigers have four of the top 10 marks in the shot put, including Iason Machairas in the top spot, and three of the top 10 in the weight throw.
Memphis is getting back in the multis game again. The Tigers have two performers – Lea Diedicke and Marietta Spannowsky – that will compete in the women's pentathlon this weekend. The last Memphis woman to compete in the pentathlon was Martine Bye in the 2016 championships.
DeeNia McMiller feels right at home at the Birmingham Crossplex. She threw a school-record 72-10 (22.20m) in the 2019-20 season opener (Birmingham-Southern Icrebreaker) at the CrossPlex Dec. 6, and then threw her second-best mark in the event, a 71-8 (21.84m), at the Jan. 26 KMS Invitational. The site of the KMS Invitational was the CrossPlex.
Calvin Austin III is vying for titles in the men's 60 and 200 meters this weekend. He, however, already has an American Athletic Conference crown this academic year. Austin plays wide receiver on the Tigers football squad, and was a member of the 2019 American Athletic Conference championship team. Austin, who was awarded a football scholarship after Memphis' win at Houston in November, caught three passes for 39 yards in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl versus Penn State.