EUGENE – Championship week for NCAA track and field will be held at Hayward Field this Wednesday through Saturday as the No. 1 Texas A&M men and No. 5 Aggie women each seek a fifth national team title.
Texas A&M's challenge for the NCAA Championship titles includes a total of 33 entries, 17 for the men and 16 for the women, spread over 21 events, 11 men and 10 women.
In addition to having a pair of two-time defending NCAA champions in Shamier Little (400m hurdles) and Shelbi Vaughan (discus), the Aggies have four collegiate leaders in the meet with Little (54.72 - 400m hurdles), Fred Kerley (45.10 – 400m), Ioannis Kyrias (268-7 - javelin) and Lindon Victor (8,446 – decathlon).
"The challenge for us each year is to be in the mix and both of our teams are in the mix," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "Our men and women are each among the top five or six schools. If you go in there and do things correct, then you can be one of those teams that wins it. It's about our performances now. We have enough people to win on both sides."
The Aggies became the first program to win three consecutive men's and women's NCAA Outdoor championships when they accomplished the feat in 2009 to 2011. Texas A&M men added a fourth title in 2013 while the Aggie women attained its fourth championship in 2014.
Over the past nine years the Texas A&M women have recorded a top five team finish at the NCAA Outdoor meet each season. The Aggie men produced a seven year run of top five team finishes prior to placing sixth last season.
"The numbers we have in the meet is not what wins now, what wins now is the quality of the performances," noted Henry. "Numbers, though, give you more opportunities to have good performances. So, I'm pleased with the numbers we have in the meet."
Predictions by Track & Field News have the Aggie men placing second with 55 points and the Texas A&M women finishing fourth with 43 points. The magazine predicts LSU to win the men's title with 59 points and Arkansas to claim the women's title with 60 points.
The top five teams in the men's predictions by Track & Field News include: 1. LSU (59 points), 2. Texas A&M (55), 3. Oregon (50), 4. Arkansas (39), and 5. Florida (38). In the women's predictions, the top five schools include: 1. Arkansas (60 points), 2. Oregon (55), 3. Tennessee (44), 4. Texas A&M (43), and 5. Texas (42).
Flotrack preditions, meanwhile, favor the Aggie men (60 points) over Oregon (55.5), LSU (40.5), Florida (40), and Arkansas (37.5). The website tabs the Texas A&M women third (44) behind Arkansas (72) and Oregon (44.5) while ahead of Texas (40) and Tennessee (38).
Coverage of the NCAA Championships will be available through ESPN. On Wednesday, coverage will begin on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and then continue on ESPN2 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. (CT), Thursday's action starts on ESPNU (6:30 to 7:30 p.m.) then switches to ESPN (7:30 to 10 p.m.), Friday's coverage is on ESPN from 7:30 to 10 p.m. and Saturday's action is on ESPN from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Texas A&M entries – NCAA Schedule (times listed CT)
Wednesday, June 8
2:30 p.m. Decathlon 100m Lindon Victor
3:10 p.m. Decathlon Long Jump Lindon Victor
4:25 p.m. Decathlon Shot Put Lindon Victor
4:40 p.m. Decathlon High Jump Lindon Victor
6:32 p.m. Men 4x100 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
7:00 p.m. Men Pole Vault FINAL Chase Wolfle, Carl Johansson, Jacob Wooten
7:45 p.m. Men Javelin FINAL Ioannis Kyriazis, Sam Hardin
8:00 p.m. Men Long Jump FINAL Will Williams
8:00 p.m. Men 400m Semifinal Fred Kerley
8:14 p.m. Men 800m Semifinal Donavan Brazier, Hector Hernandez
8:30 p.m. Men 400 Hurdles Semifinal Robert Grant
8:56 p.m. Decathlon 400m Lindon Victor
9:48 p.m. Men 4x400 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
Thursday, June 9
12:30 p.m. Decathlon 110m Hurdles Lindon Victor
1:20 p.m. Decathlon Discus Lindon Victor
2:30 p.m. Decathlon Pole Vault Lindon Victor
5:00 p.m. Decathlon Javelin Lindon Victor
6:32 p.m. Women 4x100 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
7:45 p.m. Women Javelin FINAL Maggie Malone, Audrey Malone, Madalaine Stulce
7:46 p.m. Women 100m Semifinal Aaliyah Brown, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson
8:00 p.m. Women 400m Semifinal Briyahna Desrosiers
8:14 p.m. Women 800m Semifinal Jazmine Fray, Katie Willard
8:30 p.m. Women 400 Hurdles Semifinal Shamier Little
8:44 p.m. Women 200m Semifinal Aaliyah Brown, Brenessa Thompson
8:56 p.m. Decathlon 1,500m Lindon Victor
9:48 p.m. Women 4x400 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
Friday, June 10
2:30 p.m. Heptathlon 100m Hurdles Annie Kunz
3:30 p.m. Heptathlon High Jump Annie Kunz
5:30 p.m. Heptathlon Shot Put Annie Kunz
7:05 p.m. Men Discus FINAL Jeff Bartlett
7:30 p.m. Men Triple Jump FINAL Latario Collie, Lathone Collie, Jeffrey Prothro
7:32 p.m. Men 4x100 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
8:32 p.m. Men 400m FINAL (Fred Kerley)
8:47 p.m. Men 800m FINAL (Donavan Brazier, Hector Hernandez)
8:57 p.m. Men 400 Hurdles FINAL (Robert Grant)
9:13 p.m. Heptathlon 200m Annie Kunz
9:51 p.m. Men 4x400 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
Saturday, June 11
1:30 p.m. Heptathlon Long Jump Annie Kunz
2:45 p.m. Heptathlon Javelin Annie Kunz
5:05 p.m. Women Discus FINAL Shelbi Vaughan
5:32 p.m. Women 4x100 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
6:22 p.m. Women 100m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson)
6:32 p.m. Women 400m FINAL (Briyahna Desrosiers)
6:47 p.m. Women 800m FINAL (Jazmine Fray, Katy Willard)
6:57 p.m. Women 400 Hurdles FINAL (Shamier Little)
7:07 p.m. Women 200m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown, Brenessa Thompson)
7:13 p.m. Heptathlon 800m Annie Kunz
7:51 p.m. Women 4x 400 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
Texas A&M's challenge for the NCAA Championship titles includes a total of 33 entries, 17 for the men and 16 for the women, spread over 21 events, 11 men and 10 women.
In addition to having a pair of two-time defending NCAA champions in Shamier Little (400m hurdles) and Shelbi Vaughan (discus), the Aggies have four collegiate leaders in the meet with Little (54.72 - 400m hurdles), Fred Kerley (45.10 – 400m), Ioannis Kyrias (268-7 - javelin) and Lindon Victor (8,446 – decathlon).
"The challenge for us each year is to be in the mix and both of our teams are in the mix," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "Our men and women are each among the top five or six schools. If you go in there and do things correct, then you can be one of those teams that wins it. It's about our performances now. We have enough people to win on both sides."
The Aggies became the first program to win three consecutive men's and women's NCAA Outdoor championships when they accomplished the feat in 2009 to 2011. Texas A&M men added a fourth title in 2013 while the Aggie women attained its fourth championship in 2014.
Over the past nine years the Texas A&M women have recorded a top five team finish at the NCAA Outdoor meet each season. The Aggie men produced a seven year run of top five team finishes prior to placing sixth last season.
"The numbers we have in the meet is not what wins now, what wins now is the quality of the performances," noted Henry. "Numbers, though, give you more opportunities to have good performances. So, I'm pleased with the numbers we have in the meet."
Predictions by Track & Field News have the Aggie men placing second with 55 points and the Texas A&M women finishing fourth with 43 points. The magazine predicts LSU to win the men's title with 59 points and Arkansas to claim the women's title with 60 points.
The top five teams in the men's predictions by Track & Field News include: 1. LSU (59 points), 2. Texas A&M (55), 3. Oregon (50), 4. Arkansas (39), and 5. Florida (38). In the women's predictions, the top five schools include: 1. Arkansas (60 points), 2. Oregon (55), 3. Tennessee (44), 4. Texas A&M (43), and 5. Texas (42).
Flotrack preditions, meanwhile, favor the Aggie men (60 points) over Oregon (55.5), LSU (40.5), Florida (40), and Arkansas (37.5). The website tabs the Texas A&M women third (44) behind Arkansas (72) and Oregon (44.5) while ahead of Texas (40) and Tennessee (38).
Coverage of the NCAA Championships will be available through ESPN. On Wednesday, coverage will begin on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and then continue on ESPN2 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. (CT), Thursday's action starts on ESPNU (6:30 to 7:30 p.m.) then switches to ESPN (7:30 to 10 p.m.), Friday's coverage is on ESPN from 7:30 to 10 p.m. and Saturday's action is on ESPN from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Texas A&M entries – NCAA Schedule (times listed CT)
Wednesday, June 8
2:30 p.m. Decathlon 100m Lindon Victor
3:10 p.m. Decathlon Long Jump Lindon Victor
4:25 p.m. Decathlon Shot Put Lindon Victor
4:40 p.m. Decathlon High Jump Lindon Victor
6:32 p.m. Men 4x100 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
7:00 p.m. Men Pole Vault FINAL Chase Wolfle, Carl Johansson, Jacob Wooten
7:45 p.m. Men Javelin FINAL Ioannis Kyriazis, Sam Hardin
8:00 p.m. Men Long Jump FINAL Will Williams
8:00 p.m. Men 400m Semifinal Fred Kerley
8:14 p.m. Men 800m Semifinal Donavan Brazier, Hector Hernandez
8:30 p.m. Men 400 Hurdles Semifinal Robert Grant
8:56 p.m. Decathlon 400m Lindon Victor
9:48 p.m. Men 4x400 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
Thursday, June 9
12:30 p.m. Decathlon 110m Hurdles Lindon Victor
1:20 p.m. Decathlon Discus Lindon Victor
2:30 p.m. Decathlon Pole Vault Lindon Victor
5:00 p.m. Decathlon Javelin Lindon Victor
6:32 p.m. Women 4x100 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
7:45 p.m. Women Javelin FINAL Maggie Malone, Audrey Malone, Madalaine Stulce
7:46 p.m. Women 100m Semifinal Aaliyah Brown, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson
8:00 p.m. Women 400m Semifinal Briyahna Desrosiers
8:14 p.m. Women 800m Semifinal Jazmine Fray, Katie Willard
8:30 p.m. Women 400 Hurdles Semifinal Shamier Little
8:44 p.m. Women 200m Semifinal Aaliyah Brown, Brenessa Thompson
8:56 p.m. Decathlon 1,500m Lindon Victor
9:48 p.m. Women 4x400 Relay Semifinal Texas A&M
Friday, June 10
2:30 p.m. Heptathlon 100m Hurdles Annie Kunz
3:30 p.m. Heptathlon High Jump Annie Kunz
5:30 p.m. Heptathlon Shot Put Annie Kunz
7:05 p.m. Men Discus FINAL Jeff Bartlett
7:30 p.m. Men Triple Jump FINAL Latario Collie, Lathone Collie, Jeffrey Prothro
7:32 p.m. Men 4x100 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
8:32 p.m. Men 400m FINAL (Fred Kerley)
8:47 p.m. Men 800m FINAL (Donavan Brazier, Hector Hernandez)
8:57 p.m. Men 400 Hurdles FINAL (Robert Grant)
9:13 p.m. Heptathlon 200m Annie Kunz
9:51 p.m. Men 4x400 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
Saturday, June 11
1:30 p.m. Heptathlon Long Jump Annie Kunz
2:45 p.m. Heptathlon Javelin Annie Kunz
5:05 p.m. Women Discus FINAL Shelbi Vaughan
5:32 p.m. Women 4x100 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)
6:22 p.m. Women 100m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson)
6:32 p.m. Women 400m FINAL (Briyahna Desrosiers)
6:47 p.m. Women 800m FINAL (Jazmine Fray, Katy Willard)
6:57 p.m. Women 400 Hurdles FINAL (Shamier Little)
7:07 p.m. Women 200m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown, Brenessa Thompson)
7:13 p.m. Heptathlon 800m Annie Kunz
7:51 p.m. Women 4x 400 Relay FINAL (Texas A&M)