Track & Field Heads to American Outdoor Championships
May 14, 2015 | Track & Field
Championship Central | Live Stream | Live Results
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- East Carolina heads to its first-ever American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship which takes place Thursday -- Sunday, May 14 -- 17, at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Connecticut.
The eight men's and 11 women's programs from The American will vie for conference titles in the four-day event that begins with throwing competition Thursday morning and commences Sunday afternoon with the 4x400-meter relay.
"Both teams are very excited about competing in their first American Conference Outdoor Championship," Head coach Curt Kraft said. "We have prepared ourselves both physically and mentally to compete at the very highest level. Both teams are very relaxed, yet focused on the task at hand.
"We had a very positive team meeting on Wednesday night about how to attack the next four days of competition," Kraft continued. "It's very important that we get off to a great start and continue that momentum throughout the weekend."
The Pirates will rely on the upperclassmen's leadership to guide them through the championship. Junior Avion Jones has led the men's squad this season in the field as he has set the standard in the high jump. Jones is the current school-record holder in the event with a clearance of 2.21-meters (7' 3"), which he set a year ago. This season, he won the Bill Carson Invitational with a season-best mark of 2.20-meters (7' 2.50") en route to ranking sixth in the nation.
On the women's side, ECU is led by seniors Tania Minkins and Tyshonda Hawkins. Earlier this season, Minkins set the East Carolina school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.45. She, along with Hawkins, is part of the 4x100-meter relay team that owns the school record with a time of 44.38. Additionally, the pair have also set the standard in the 4x200-meter relay (1:34.26), the 4x400-meter relay (3:35.75) and the sprint medley relay (3:51.00). Hawkins has turned in several strong showings for the Pirates as she also owns the school record in the 200-meter dash (23.29) and is second all-time at ECU in the 100-meter dash (11.47) and third in the 400-meter dash (53.00).
"One of the positive things we have going for us is that we have strong senior leadership on both sides," Kraft said. "The men's and women's teams are very hungry to compete and our seniors want to go out with a great effort."
Live streaming will be available at TheAmerican.org/DN, while updates throughout the weekend can be found on Twitter at @AmericanXCTrack.
Players Mentioned
