Men's Outdoor Track and Field

Sun Belt Track and Field Student-Athletes Head to Austin for NCAA Championship

NCAA Championship | Men's Start Lists | Women's Start Lists
AUSTIN, Texas - A total of 17 Sun Belt Conference outdoor track & field student-athletes will make their way to Austin, Texas for the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The meet, held at Mike A. Myers Stadium, begins on June 5 and continues through June 8.

For the fifth-consecutive year, the meet will be split into men’s and women’s competition days. The men will compete on Wednesday (June 5) and Friday (June 7) while the women will compete on Thursday (June 6) and Saturday (June 8).

Part of the Sun Belt contingent is record-setting Emilie Berge from South Alabama. The junior heads back to the site of her record-setting heptathlon set back in March. Berge scored 5,718 heptathlon points—the second-highest point total in the nation at the time at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, breaking the old Sun Belt record as she qualified for her second consecutive national’s appearance.

Joining Berge on the women's side is Arkansas State's Caitland Smith and UT Arlington's Alexus Henry. Smith is one of 10 athletes to compete in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at the Championship. Smith clocked a time of 11.22 seconds to finish fifth among 12 qualifiers in the 100-meter dash while setting a school record of 22.75 seconds ranked her fifth in the 200-meter dash.

Henry will have the chance to defend her NCAA title in the women's high jump. Henry advanced to the Championship meet in thrilling fashion making it on her third at final try at 1.80m (5-10.75). Her clearance was her best of the season, officially finishing ninth at the preliminary event.

On the men's side, a pair of long distance runners highlight the Sun Belt student-athletes descending on Austin. Coastal Carolina's pair of brothers - Nadeel and Adriaan Wildschutt - will be competing in the 10,000-meters.

Adriaan Wildschutt, the younger of the two Wildschutt brothers, reset the CCU school record in the 10k with a time of 28:53.69 placing second at the East preliminary. Nadeel took home fourth-place as he finished with a personal best time of 28:55.62.

A pair of long time Sun Belt pole-vaulters will also be in Austin. A-State's Michael Carr and four-time Sun Belt Outdoor Champion - Sean Collins - will go head-to-head once again this season, along with 34 other competitors. Carr qualified for the Championship by clearing 5.36m (17-7) at the West preliminary. Collins will be making his third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship after finishing sixth at the East preliminary. Collins cleared 5.53m (18-1.75) at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championship to break the conference record he set in 2016 and claim his fourth consecutive league title.

Troy's Matthew Likely will compete in the 200-meters at the Championship. At the East preliminary Likely ran the 200-meter first round race in 20.65 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Likely set his personal record with a time of 20.49 seconds, finishing 11th to make it to Austin.

UTA's Erik Martinsson broke his own school record in the 800-meters to earn a return invitation to the Championship. Martinsson crossed the line with a time of 1:47.34 in the quarterfinals at the West preliminary, nearly a half-second faster than his previous school record.

Additiionally, both of the men’s relay teams from UTA - 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay - qualified for the Championship. The 4x100m group, which consisted of Isaiah McBride, Deontre Haynes, Anthony Aldridge and D'Undre Mitchell ran a time of 39.70 to place third in its heat at the West preliminary to earn a trip to Austin.

The 4x400 squad, consisting of Mitchell, David Seastrunk, Brenden Wallace and Martinsson, also automatically advanced to Austin with a season-best time of 3:05.22.

Lastly, A-State's Carter Shell is making his second consecutive trip to the championship. Shell will compete in the long jump as the sophomore advanced from the West preliminary with a leap of 7.56m (24-9.75), ninth best amongst the 12 qualifiers from the West.

Individual and relay event participants qualified for the national championships through preliminary events hosted May 23-25 in Florida and California. The top 48 individuals and top 24 relay teams first qualified for prelims. Heptathlon and decathlon participants will compete for the first time in Austin.

The championship begins Wednesday, June 5 with 21 events (10 prelims, 11 finals). The opening event, the 4x100-meter relay men's semifinals kicks off at 4:32 p.m. CT.

All three days of championships will be available to live stream on ESPN, ESPNU or ESPN3.