Track and Field Ready for NCAA Outdoor Championships
June 07, 2011 | Men's Track and Field
June 7, 2011
Men's Heat Sheets | Women's Heat Sheets
Event-by-Event Breakdown
Live Results | Live Streaming
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Six student-athletes on the University of Louisville track and field teams arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, and are set to compete for titles in their respective events at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University.
The four-day event begins on Wednesday, June 8, with the last day of action on Saturday, June 11. All-session passes and single-day tickets are still available by calling (515) 271-DOGS or visiting www.NCAA.com/tickets. Fans can log on to www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com for free live streaming video. Friday's action will be broadcast on CBS College Sports from 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET, and Saturday's competition from 1-3 p.m. ET will be available on CBS. Ian Eagle will call the action, and Larry Rawson, Carol Lewis and Dan O'Brien will provide analysis and interviews.
Entering the meet, senior Matt Hughes looks to defend his national title in the 3,000m steeplechase, beginning with the semifinal competition on Wednesday at 8:45 p.m. ET. Hughes will be running in the first section, with the top six from each heat advancing to the finals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Hughes currently has the fastest collegiate time (8:35.74), which he achieved at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind. The mark was the fastest overall, giving him his third win in the event this season. Previously, he raced to first-place finishes in the Texas Roadhouse Border Battle (April 9) and at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships (May 7), where he won his second career league title in the event.
Of the three female throwers competing at the national championships, Chinwe Okoro is the first in action on Wednesday, participating in the women's discus at 4 p.m. ET.
On Thursday, seniors Rachel Gehret (high jump) and Michael Eaton (10,000m) will compete in their respective events. Gehret, who tied for first in the high jump by at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds by clearing 1.81m/5-11.25, earned her third trip to the national stage in the event. Eaton, meanwhile, earned his second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after initially appearing in 2008, when he earned All-America honors.
A two-time outdoor All-American, D'Ana McCarty is set to throw in her first of two events - the hammer throw on Friday - at the championships. A senior, McCarty won three BIG EAST titles at the league's outdoor championships, becoming only the fourth athlete in BIG EAST history to win three field event titles in one meet.
On the final day of competition, McCarty, Khadija Abdullah and Okoro are scheduled for the shot put at noon ET. Abdullah makes her second trip to the outdoor national championships; she made her career debut in 2009.
For all of the latest information on Louisville cross country and track and field, log on to uoflsports.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/louisvilletrack.
NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (JUNE 8-11 | DES MOINES, IOWA)
Wednesday, June 8
Women's Discus (trials/final), 4 p.m. ET
Chinwe Okoro
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase (semifinal), 8:45 p.m. ET
Matt Hughes
Thursday, June 9
Women's High Jump (final), 6:30 p.m. ET
Rachel Gehret
Men's 10,000m (final), 9:50 p.m. ET
Michael Eaton
Friday, June 10
Women's Hammer Throw (trials/final), 4 p.m. ET
D'Ana McCarty
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase (final), 8:30 p.m. ET
Matt Hughes
Saturday, June 11
Women's Shot Put (trials/final), Noon ET
Khadija Abdullah, D'Ana McCarty, Chinwe Okoro
Players Mentioned
