NEW ORLEANS - The 2017 NCAA track and field championships are set to begin Wednesday at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The men’s events start the first of the four-day competition, with the team winner awarded on Friday and the women’s team winner on Saturday.
All four days of the national championship will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN2. For more info on where to watch, click here. For a full schedule of events, click here.
The Sun Belt Conference will be represented by 17 men's and women's student-athletes across 11 different events this week, highlighted by Arkansas State's Jaylen Bacon and Coastal Carolina's Annie Bothma.
Bacon, a back-to-back winner of the 100- and 200-meters at the Sun Belt Championships, will compete in both events this week at the NCAA Championships. Bacon's time of 9.97 was the second fastest qualifier from the preliminary round. He also has the 11th-best time from the preliminary round in the 200.
Coastal's Annie Bothma, despite her limited competition this outdoor season, had the fastest qualifier at the preliminary meet. Bothma crossed the line at the East preliminary with a time of 33:37.91. The freshman from South Africa won three individual titles this year at the Sun Belt championships taking home first place honors in cross country, the 5,000-meters indoor and the 10,000-meters from outdoor.
Arkansas State led all Sun Belt teams with six total student-athletes heading to Eugene - three on the men's side and three on the women's side. Tiann Steenkamp and Cristian Ravav Ladislau will compete in the men's high jump and hammer throw, respectively. Viktoriia Sadokhina, Erin Farmer and Calea Carr will represent the Red Wolves on the women's side. Sadokhina will compete in the triple jump, Farmer will compete in the shot put and Carr in the discus throw.
UTA will send two to Eugene in Craig Lautenslager and Emeke Nwangwu. Lautenslager will compete in the 5,000-meters and Nwangwu the 110-meter hurdles. Additionally, Louisiana and South Alabama will send one student-athlete each to Eugene on the men's side. Hanoj Carter will again face off with Bacon in the 100-meters while USA's Collins heads to the NCAA Outdoor championships for the first time in his career. An injury at the Sun Belt championship a year ago sidelined him for the season, but he returns this year with one of the top qualifying jumps in the NCAA (5.35m).
Texas State will send T'Mond Johnson to the championship and he will compete in the shot put for the Bobcats.
Georgia State is sending two women's student-athletes to Track Town as Alysiah Whittaker and LaPorscha Wells will compete in field events for the Panthers. Whittaker will compete in the shot put alongside A-State's Farmer and Wells will compete in the hammer throw. Both Panthers have registered top marks in the NCAA and enter the championship in the top 15.
UTA's Helen Falda, the 2017 Sun Belt women's pole vault champion, will compete in that same event in Eugene as she is one of three freshman vaulters to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor championship.
Texas State's Chelsie Decoud and Mylana Hearn will compete in the horizontal jumps with Decoud competing in the high jump and Hearn the triple jump.
Student-athletes will earn First-Team USTFCCCA All-America honors by virtue of finishing among the top-8 in their events, including as a member of a relay. Second-Team All-America honors go to those who finish ninth through 16th and Honorable Mention is 17th through 24th.
Eugene, also known as Track Town to many fans of the sport, will host the 2017 championships. Oregon has hosted the event 14 times, and 2017 will mark the fifth consecutive year. The first year Oregon hosted was back in 1962.
Men's Participants
Arkansas State - 4 (Jaylen Bacon - 100/200 meters, Tiann Steenkamp - High Jump, Cristian Ravar Ladislau - Hammer)
UTA - 2 (Craig Lautenslager - 5,000 meters, Emeka Nwangwu - 110-meter hurdles)
Louisiana - 1 (Hanoj Carter - 100 meters)
South Alabama - 1 (Sean Collins - Pole Vault)
Texas State - 1 (T'Mond Johnson - Shot Put)
Women's Participants
Arkansas State - 3 (Viktoriia Sadokhina - Triple Jump, Erin Farmer - Shot Put, Calea Carr - Discus)
Georgia State - 2 (Alysiah Whittaker - Shot Put, LaPorscha Wells - Hammer)
Texas State - 2 (Chelsie Decoud - High Jump, Mylana Hearn - Triple Jump)
Coastal Carolina - 1 (Annie Bothma - 10,000 meters)
UTA - 1 (Helen Falda - Pole Vault)