#1 Oregon to Host NCAA Track and Field Championships

ESPN Networks will cover every day of the meet, with Wednesday and Thursday being broadcast on ESPN3, starting at 3:55 p.m. PT.

(EUGENE, Ore. ) - The University of Oregon will host the NCAA Track and Field Championships for the second-consecutive year and the 12th time in meet history, June 11-14 at Historic Hayward Field.

Events will start at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. on Thursday and 12:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

Coverage: ESPN Networks will cover every day of the meet, with Wednesday and Thursday being broadcast on ESPN3, starting at 3:55 p.m. PT. Events on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast live ESPNU starting at 4:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively.

Rankings: The Men of Oregon jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 in the latest USTFCCCCA rankings, the second time the Ducks have been ranked in the top spot this season. The Women of Oregon remain at No. 3, where they have been for five-consecutive weeks. Strength In Numbers: Both of Oregon’s teams lead the country in entries for the NCAA Championships. The men have a total of 21 entries which is two more than second-place Texas A&M. The women have 20 entries which is more than Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas and Texas A&M which each have 16.

Oregon NCAA History: The men’s team has won five NCAA Outdoor Championships in program history with the last one coming in 1984. Since the last title, The Ducks have finished in the top five seven times. The first and only women’s team title came in 1985. Since, Oregon has finished in the top-five seven times, including the past five seasons. All-American Girl: Laura Roesler is the most decorated All-American in Oregon track and field history and will look to add to her total at the 2014 Outdoor Championships. Roesler has a total of 15 honors, nine indoors and six outdoors. Jordan Hasay held the previous record at 14 All-American nods.

Hurdles History: Sasha Wallace is entered in the 100 hurdles this week. The Women of Oregon have had 171 All-American performances in program history but have yet to earn an award in either the 100 or 400 hurdles, the only active events missing from the list. Indoors and Out: The last team to win both indoor and outdoor titles in the same year on the men’s side was Florida in 2012. The last women’s team to do it was Arizona State in 2007.

No school has ever swept both the indoor and outdoor national championships. Prandini Puts on a Show: Jenna Prandini won the 100, 200 and long jump at the Pac-12 Championships in Pullman, Wash., this season. She is the first woman to win three events at one Pac-12 Championships meet since Seilala Sue (UCLA) did so in 1999. Bowerman Watch: Seniors Laura Roesler and Phyllis Francis were included in the latest edition of The Bowerman Women’s Watchlist while Edward Cheserek appears on The Bowerman Men’s Watchlist. Jenna Prandini joined the most recent list in the “also receiving votes” category. School Records: Three members of the women’s team set school records at the Pac-12 Championships. Jenna Prandini’s 22.60 is the top mark in Oregon history while freshmen Brittan Mann and Sasha Wallace set school records in the shot put (55-5) and 100 hurdles (13.24), respectively.

Devon Allen set the 110-meter hurdles record at the NCAA Preliminary rounds with a time of 13.27. Regional Outdoor Honors: Jenna Prandini was named the West Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year while Robert Johnson, Andy Powell and Curtis Taylor were also awarded coaching honors. Johnson won the West Region Men’s Coach of the Year while Andy Powell and Curtis Taylor were given the men’s and women’s coaching awards, respectively. TrackTown USA – Home of the NCAA Outdoor Championships: The University of Oregon’s Historic Hayward Field will be the home of the NCAA Track and Field Championships for each of the next eight years.

The NCAA has awarded TrackTown USA its Outdoor Track and Field Championships from 2015 to 2021, the Association announced in December, 2013. Coupled with the fact that Eugene had previously been selected to host the national meet in 2014, the University of Oregon will be the destination for the Division I championships into the next decade.

The announcement means that Eugene will be the home of more NCAA meets than any other city in the United States. TrackTown has hosted the national championships 11 times: 1962, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2010 and 2013. Cheserek, Roesler Named National Athlete of the Week: Edward Cheserek was crowned as the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, April 28 after being named the Penn Relays Athlete of the Meet. The freshman was a part of winning DMR and 4xMile teams, running mile splits of 3:57.98 and 3:56.4, respectively.

Senior Laura Roesler was named the National Athlete of the Week, April 21, picking up the award for the second time this season after previously being named during the indoor season, Jan. 27.

Leading the Pac: With a sweep of the conference meet this season, the Women of Oregon are six-time defending Pac-12 champions, starting their streak in 2009 while the men are eight-time defending champions, starting theirs in 2007. The men’s streak is the longest in Pac-12 Championships history. The women’s streak is second longest, behind UCLA, which won eight times from 1997-2004.