UKTF Set for 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 6-9

EUGENE, Ore. – The collegiate track and field season will culminate over the next four days when Kentucky competes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.
 
The meet will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks throughout the week. ESPN2 will show Wednesday’s competition starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, with field events streaming on ESPN3 starting at 3:20 p.m. ET.

Reigning NCAA Indoor Heptathlon Champion Tim Duckworth begins the meet for UK with the first event of the decathlon, the 100m in heat one at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT (local in Eugene) on Wednesday.

The open events start with UK’s men’s 4x100m relay at 7:32 p.m. ET/4:32 p.m. PT and the first Wildcat in an open field event Wednesday will be Elijah Marta in the men’s javelin at 8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT.

All field events will have online broadcasts via ESPN3.
 
The format
Points are scored at the NCAA Championships by individuals or relay teams finishing top-eight in respective events. Points are awarded on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with 10 going to the winner and one going to eight place. The team with the most points at the end of the meet wins the team title.
 
Athletes qualified to the NCAA Championships finals site by finishing top-12 at two regional meets 10 days ago. The East and West Preliminary Championships. Athletes qualified there based on having top-48 marks in respective events recorded during the season.
 
The No. 4-ranked Kentucky women’s team has 13 event entries, tied for fourth most in the nation. The No. 14 UK men’s team has 10 event entries, tied for eighth most at the Championships.

The men’s competition will be held Wednesday and Friday with just the men’s decathlon concluding on Thursday.
 
The women’s competition will take place Thursday and Saturday, with the heptathlon starting on Friday.

The multi-events cross over because they have to be held in two consecutive days.

The meet is being held in Eugene for the sixth year in a row, and will relocate to Austin Texas next year.
 
The quote
“This time of the year, when you’re going to a championship, everybody is on edge and you’ve got things to adjust,” UK head coach Edrick Floréal said. “You’ve got tweaks and those are the things that are the difference between breaking a collegiate record and not making the finals. I feel good about the potential and the training. I think we’ve got to embrace the challenge.”
 
The UK women’s team body of work
The Wildcats have the No. 4 national ranking going into the NCAA Championships. Kentucky student-athletes have recorded three all-time collegiate top ten performances this season, including Sydney McLaughlin’s collegiate record in the 400m hurdles, and Camacho-Quinn’s second-best performance ever recorded in the 100m hurdles.

The UK men’s team’s body of work
The Wildcats have the No. 14 national ranking and the top slot in the Southeast Region going into the NCAA Championships, as well as five All-SEC selections. Kentucky qualified ten to the finals site of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships; eighth best among all Division I institutions.
 
UK women’s team deeper dive
Kentucky has 13 qualifying entries into the meet, including the top seeds in the two hurdles races plus the top 4x400m relay time in the nation this season.
 
Freshman Sydney McLaughlin’s 400m hurdles season-best 52.75, which she ran to win the Southeastern Conference Championship, is the collegiate record. She’s said in meet buildup that her goal for the meet is a new personal-best time.
 
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran the No. 2 time in NCAA history, 12.40, to win the SEC title last month. Her time is .01 off the collegiate record
 
UK has defending NCAA Champions in the 4x100m relay and pole vault (Olivia Gruver).
 
UK men’s team deeper dive
Tim Duckworth has the top decathlon score in the NCAA this season, 8,145 in early April. He took bronze in the open long jump at the SEC Championships with the No. 4 mark in the nation.
 
Freshman Dwight St. Hillaire was top qualifier out of NCAA East Prelims in the 400m running the second fastest time in collegiate history by a freshman, 44.55 (No. 19 on the all-time NCAA list). That time lowered his PB by half a second from the best he ran just two weeks prior.
 
Sophomore Daniel Roberts ran 12.27 to take silver in the 110m hurdles at SECs, that’s the second fastest time in the nation this year.
 
Senior Kentuckian Jacob Thomson qualified for the NCAA 10k final for the third year in a row.

Women’s team precedent
UK was fourth with 40 points at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The UK women’s team’s best NCAA outdoor finish was second in 2015 with 50 points.
 
UK placed third with 34 points at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
 
Men’s team precedent
UK was fifth with four points last season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  The UK men’s team’s best NCAA outdoor finish was ninth in 2008 with 25 points.
 
UK finished 17th with 12 points at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Broadcast windows (Times listed in Eastern)
Wednesday: ESPN3 3:20 p.m. | ESPN2 7:30 – 11 p.m.
Thursday: ESPN3 12:50 p.m. | ESPN2 7 – 10:30 p.m.
Friday: ESPN3: 3:20 p.m. | ESPN: 8:30 – 11 p.m.
Saturday: ESPN3: 2:20 p.m. | ESPN: 6:30 – 9 p.m.

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