The Warm-Up Lap: Conference Championship Season is Now Underway

 

NEW ORLEANS – For the first time this season, true team competition will come to the forefront as conference championships season gets rolling.

While the bulk of the conference meets will take place next weekend and many Division I student-athletes will flock to Notre Dame for one last regular-season shot at fast times, this weekend will still feature 17 league meets across all three NCAA Divisions. All told, more than 100 meets are on the collegiate schedule this weekend.

THIS WEEKEND’S DIV. I CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division I conference championships can be found here. America East Feb. 23-24 Atlantic 10 Feb. 22-23 Atlantic Sun Feb. 21-22 Big East Feb. 21-22 MAAC Feb. 21 Patriot League Feb. 21-22 Sun Belt Feb. 24-25 SWAC Feb. 22-23

 

Division I alone will feature eight championship meets, headlined by the Big East Championships, highlighted by the No. 8 Providence women and the No. 10 Villanova men. This will mark the first track & field championship meet for the conference since it split itself between the Big East and the new American Athletic Conference.

All of the championship meets this weekend will be from the East (America East, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, MAAC, Patriot League) with the regionally prominent NEICAAA Championships next weekend, or the South (Sun Belt, SWAC).

Another meet to watch out for in Division I is the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday (Flotrack Pro broadcast), which is being touted by Flotrack as a great meet for sprints, relays and distance events. Among the seven ranked men’s teams with student-athletes in the field are No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 6 Penn State.

No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 7 Georgia and No. 10 Penn State headline the eight ranked women’s teams at the meet.

THIS WEEKEND’S DIV. II CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division II conference championships can be found here. Conference Carolinas Feb. 23 East Coast Conference Feb. 22 GNAC Feb. 21-22 Northeast-10 Feb. 22

 

Division II’s four slated league competitions this weekend span t he country from coast-to-coast. The Northeast-10, Conference Carolinas and East Coast Conference meets will take place in the Eastern time zone, while the GNAC is the only NCAA conference championship on the West Coast this weekend.

Women’s top-25 teams looking for conference titles this weekend include No. 9 New Haven and No. 21 Southern Connecticut at the NE-10 meet, and No. 7 Alaska Anchorage at GNACs. Top-25 men’s teams at league meets are No. 13 Southern Connecticut at the NE-10 Championships and No. 21 Alaska Anchorage at the GNAC meet.

THIS WEEKEND’S DIV. III CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division III conference championships can be found here. Capital Athletic Conference Feb. 22 HCAC Feb. 22 UMAC Feb. 22

 

Both the East and the Midwest are represented in the Division III conference championships offerings this weekend. The Capital Athletic Conference, the HCAC and the UMAC will all hold their league meets on Saturday.

The lone ranked Division III team going for a conference title this weekend are the No. 13 St. Scholastica women at the UMAC Championships.

Though not a conference championship, the New England Division III Indoor Championships at MIT on Friday and Saturday will have the feel of one. With regional bragging rights on the line, No. 2 MIT, No. 6 Williams and No. 8 Wheaton (Mass.) will duke it out atop a women’s field with seven ranked teams, while No. 4 MIT and No. 8 Tufts headline a field with six top-25 men’s squads.

Another meet to watch for is the Pointer/Eastbay Invitational at UW-Stevens Point, which could foreshadow some WIAC action. No. 1 UW-La Crosse will be represented on the men’s and women’s sides, along with top-10 ranked men’s teams in No. 2 UW-Oshkosh, No. 5 UW-Eau Claire and No. 9 UW-Stout, and the defending indoor women’s champion in No. 3 UW-Oshkosh.

Collegians at the USA Indoor Championships

Another nationally prominent meet in which individual performance takes precedence over team performance – after all, there isn’t a team aspect to this meet – is the USATF Indoor National Championship meet.

USATF Indoor Championships Albuquerque, N.M. Albuquerque Convention Center Fri Feb 21 – Sun Feb 23 Meet Home | Broadcast Info  Meet Schedule | Startlists | Part. Manual

A total of 41 collegians – 25 men and 16 women — declared themselves for meet in affiliation with their collegiate programs for the opportunity to compete for a national title.

Among those entries are current The Bowerman Watch List "also receiving votes" members in Ricky Robertson of Ole Miss (men’s high jump), Emily Grove of South Dakota (women’s pole vault), Anna Jelmini of Arizona State (women’s shot put) and Sami Spenner of Omaha (women’s pentathlon).

Also in the field are active former NCAA champions in Jelmini, New Mexico’s Kendall Spencer (men’s long jump) and South Dakota’s Bethany Firsick (women’s pole vault).

The full list of declared collegians at USAs can be found below.

MALE COLLEGIANS AT USA INDOORS

FEMALE COLLEGIANS AT USA INDOORS

Name School Event Ridge Jones New Mexico m60 Brycen Spratling Pittsburgh m400 Jordan Edwards Academy of Art m400 Ricky Babineaux Texas A&M m400 Grant Grosvenor Jr Montana St. m800 Robert Sandlin Jr Bellarmine m1500 Jim Spisak Duquesne m3000 Vincent Wyatt Radford m60H Trevor Brown Colorado St. m60H Randy McCoy Southern Miss. m60H Tremayne Banks Bethune-Cookman m60H Alejandro Chavez Missouri Baptist m3000rw Nick Christie Missouri Baptist m3000rw Ricky Robertson Jr Ole Miss mHJ Anthony Johnson Evergreen mHJ Mark Jones Colorado mHJ Braydon Bringhurst BYU mPV Nick Frawley U.S. Air Force mPV Kendall Spencer New Mexico mLJ Warrick Campbell New Mexico mTJ Paul Davis McMurry mSP Errol Jeffrey Jr Monmouth mSP Justin Welch Findlay mWT Alex Kizirian Colorado mWT Michael McPherson Utah Valley mHept

Name School Event Tristie Johnson Bethune-Cookman w60 Brigitte Mania Connecticut w1500 Bridgette Owens Florida w60H Taranisha Taylor Pittsburgh w60H Dinesha Bean Academy of Art w60H Molly Josephs Missouri Baptist w3000rw Megan Glisar South Dakota wHJ Tiana Wills San Fran. St. wHJ Ronea Saunders Central Conn. St. wHJ Emily Grove South Dakota wPV Bethany Firsick South Dakota wPV Sandi Morris Arkansas wPV Christina Hillman Iowa St. wSP Kelsey Card Wisconsin wSP Anastasia Jelmini Arizona St. wSP Sami Spenner Neb. Omaha wPent

 

USTFCCCA Debuts U20 Lists ahead of World Juniors

Speaking of World Championships, the outdoor IAAF World Junior Championships are coming to Eugene, Ore., this summer – July 22-27, to be precise. Young collegians are likely to play a significant role at that meet, and with that in mind, the USTFCCCA has compiled a list of the top junior collegians in each event, based on 2014 indoor marks.

Among the top-ranked competitors on the list include a trio of newly minted American junior record holders in Kendell Williams of Georgia (women’s pentathlon), Sasha Wallace of Oregon (women’s 60-meter hurdles) and Artie Burns of Miami (men’s 60-meter hurdles).

The full list, which is a work in progress, can be found here.

USTFCCCA InfoZone: Broadcast Schedule

Friday, February 21, 2014

4:00 PM ET

MAAC Indoor Championships (New York, N.Y.)

WEB: ArmoryTrack.com

LIVE

Saturday, February 22, 2014

11:00 AM ET	Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)	WEB: Flotrack Pro	LIVE sub. required
4:30 PM ET	USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)	TV: NBCSN	LIVE
6:00 PM ET	USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)	WEB: USATF.tv	LIVE The Cool Down

Sunday, February 23, 2014

2:00 PM ET	USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)	WEB: Universal Sports	LIVE
3:30 PM ET	USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)	TV: NBCSN	LIVE
5:00 PM ET	USATF Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)	WEB: USATF.tv	LIVE The Cool Down

 

Top-Ranked Teams In Action

DIVISION I
MEN’S TOP 10 3. Texas A&M Alex Wilson Invitational 4. Oregon Alex Wilson Invitational 5. Wisconsin Alex Wilson Invitational   Red & White Open 6. Penn State Alex Wilson Invitational 7. Florida State Virginia Tech Challenge 10. Villanova BIG EAST Indoor Championships	WOMEN’S TOP 10 1. Oregon Alex Wilson Invitational 3. Texas A&M Alex Wilson Invitational 7. Georgia Alex Wilson Invitational 8. Providence BIG EAST Indoor Championships 10. Penn State Alex Wilson Invitational

 

DIVISION II

MEN’S TOP 10 2. Saint Augustine’s Virginia Tech Challenge 3. Ashland Hillsdale Tune-Up   Kent State Tune-Up 4. Minnesota State Parents’ Day Invitational 5. Grand Valley State Grand Valley State Tune-Up 6. Missouri Southern Central Missouri Classic   Missouri Collegiate Challenge   Nebraska Tune-Up 7. Neb.-Kearney Nebraska Tune-Up 8. Findlay Hillsdale Tune-Up   Ohio State Tune-Up 9. Shippensburg Kutztown Last Chance Qualifier

WOMEN’S TOP 10 2. Grand Valley State Grand Valley State Tune-Up 4. Ashland Hillsdale Tune-Up   Kent State Tune-Up 7. Alaska Anchorage GNAC Indoor Championships 9. New Haven Northeast-10 Indoor Championships 10. Central Missouri Central Missouri Classic

 

DIVISION III

MEN’S TOP 10 1. UW-La Crosse Pointer/Eastbay Invitational   Red & White Open 2. UW-Oshkosh Pointer/Eastbay Invitational 3. North Central (Ill.) Cardinal Classic (indoor) 4. MIT New England Division III Indoor Championships 5. UW-Eau Claire Pointer/Eastbay Invitational 6. Haverford Keogh Invitational 7. Mount Union Kent State Tune-Up 8. Tufts New England Division III Indoor Championships 9. UW-Stout Pointer/Eastbay Invitational 10. Central (Iowa) Iowa Invitational (indoor)   Nebraska Tune-Up

WOMEN’S TOP 10 1. UW-La Crosse Pointer/Eastbay Invitational   Red & White Open 2. MIT New England Division III Indoor Championships 3. UW-Oshkosh Pointer/Eastbay Invitational 4. Wartburg Wartburg Indoor Invitational 5. UW-Whitewater Cardinal Classic (indoor) 6. Williams New England Division III Indoor Championships 8. Wheaton (Mass.) New England Division III Indoor Championships 9. Illinois Wesleyan DUAL: Illinois Wesleyan-Washington (Mo.) 10. Stevens Princeton Invitational (Indoor)