The Preliminary championships competitions will be held May 23-25. The East region will be held at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. and the West region at Texas in Austin, Texas. The qualifiers out of these regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.

The complete list of participants can be found by clicking here.

Sunday’s highlights featured event titles from Leoman Momoh at 800 meters, Patrick Rono at 1,500 meters, Kemoy Campbell at 5,000 meters, Caleb Cross in the 400-meter hurdles and Andrew Irwin in the pole vault.

“I’m really proud of our athletes and my coaches,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “There’s a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication. They just go the job done [Sunday]. We had a big day and came away with five wins. They call came in about a 30-minute span so we got some real good momentum going. I’m proud of them."

Rono picked up the Razorbacks’ first win on the track with his first-place performance at 1,500 meters. Stalking the lead group at the bell, he put on a late charge to capture his first career SEC outdoor title. He crossed the finish line in a time of 3:50.22. Campbell, in his first of two event finals, finished in fifth place with a time of 3:51.92, good for four points to the team’s total.

Campbell was back on the track for the finals of the 5,000 meters where he posted a win in 13:57.17. The 10 points from Campbell and four additional points from Stanley Kebenei’s fifth-place finish helped give the Razorbacks an insurmountable lead heading into the final event. Kebenei, off his runner-up finish in the steeplechase Saturday, had a final time of 14:00.45.

“I finished pretty well, and that’s what I came here to do,” Campbell said. “I was hoping to win the 1,500 [meters] earlier but I wasn’t able to do that so I knew I had another chance to win with the 5K. It was a pretty tactical race. There were some good guys in the race and I knew I had my work cut out for me. I had to run smart. I wasn’t very smart in running the 1,500 earlier but I went back to the drawing board and knew I had to come with something better in the 5K. It paid off.”

The Razorbacks got an early boost from a repeat championship effort from Irwin in the pole vault. He successfully defended his title with a final clearance of 5.59m/18-4.

Cross turned in a repeat performance of his own as he won the 400-meter hurdles in a season-best time of 50.42. He is the seventh hurdler in SEC history to win consecutive titles in the event.

“I didn’t have a lot of time between the 400 [hurdles] and the 110s but it was a good day. Winning another SEC title is pretty awesome. I wanted to run a little bit faster but I didn’t execute my first 200 like I wanted. I’m happy with the time. It’s a season best for me, so I’ll just keep working as we go into prelims and nationals.”

As the team’s lone representative in the finals of the 800 meters, Momoh took the early lead and held on for the wire-to-wire victory. He captured his first individual SEC title with the effort, crossing the finish line in a personal-best time of 1:47.74. Momoh is the third Razorback in the last five years (Alex McClary, 2009; Dorian Ulrey, 2011) to win an SEC title in the event. Momoh entered the weekend with a season-best time of 1:54.59.

“I went out in the first 200 [meters] and just tried to stay in the moment. I didn’t expect to lead it but I thought ‘let me just go ahead.’ Through 400, I had the lead and I knew I just had to keep running. Sean Obinwa [of Florida] came up on me and I just thought about my teammates and how we needed points. I just kept striding and I made it.”

Arkansas bookended its day on the track with fourth- and third-place finishes in the 4x1000- and 4x400-meter relays, respectively. In the opener, the team of Cross, Jarrion Lawson, Akheem Gauntlett and Marek Niit combined to pass the baton around the track in a season-best time of 39.34. Niit and Gauntlett were back on the track in the last event with Neil Braddy and Anton Kokorin to finish third in the 4x400-meter relay. The foursome posted a season-best time of 3:04.68.

Individually, Gauntlett turned in a runner-up finish at 400 meters. He crossed the finish line in a time of 45.53, the second-best mark of his career.

The Zips are the first men's program to win three consecutive MAC outdoor championships in the league since 1999.

A force throughout the course of the three-day meet, senior Nick Banke was named MAC Most Valuable Performer after tallying 26 points for the men's team. He captured the second MAC title of his career Saturday, winning the discus with a mark of 182-09 and finished runner-up in the shot put and hammer Friday.

Freshman Shawn Barber, the league's indoor champion in the pole vault, made it a clean sweep Saturday by winning the event with a championship meet record jump of 17-08.50, which earned him the MAC's Most Outstanding Field Performance award.

In guiding the men's program to its fifth league crown, 18th-year head coach Dennis Mitchell was named MAC Men's Coach of the Year for the fifth time. In all, it is the 16th time Mitchell, who also serves as the head coach for the Zips women's team, has earned the league's top coaching honor.

Sophomore Martel Durant was Akron's third MAC Champion on the men's side Saturday, taking the high jump with a clearance of 6-11.00. It was a league sweep for Durant as well as he also claimed the MAC title at the indoor meet last February.

After trailing by 10 points to Kent State after the first two events of the meet, the Zips scored 59 points through the next four to take control and never looked back. In the end, Akron won the team title by 12 points with a three-day total of 195.

Akron received a huge lift from its pole vault trio of Barber, Joe Wesley and Shawn Light, who finished 1-3-4 to secure 21 points. Wesley went 17-00.75 to establish a personal record while Light jumped 16-06.75 to hold off the rest of the pack.

The Zips also scored 14 points in the high jump and 100-meter dash. A pair of freshmen sprinters, Vince Turnage (10.71) and Julius Ruby (10.82) finished second and fifth, respectively, in their event while John Dahlstrand joined Durant on the winner's podium in the high jump with a fifth-place finish and clearance of 6-08.00. Dahlstrand also scored three points in the triple jump (46-06.75).

Other men's runner-ups included Sean Weems (51.96) in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100 relay team of Weems, Nick Owens, Ruby and Turnage, which posted a collective time of 3:11.35.

FORT WORTH, Texas

“At the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships we were last,” TCU head coach Darryl Anderson said. “The men’s team has elevated itself to where they are now ranked in the top 20 nationally. It says a lot about the work they have put in this season.”

Charles Silmon’s performance at the Big 12 championships has been a big reason for the TCU rise in the rankings. The six-time All-American is ranked in the top 10 of three events. Silmon is the NCAA leader in the 200-meter dash with his mark of 20.33 and is ranked ninth in the 100m with his wind-aided 10.18. He is also part of the eighth-ranked 4x100 relay team from the UCLA-LSU double-dual meet in April. He was joined on the team by Ramone Bailey, Ronnie Baker and Raymond Bozmans.

Cameron Parker’s top legal triple jump of the Big 12 championships of 53-2 3/4 (16.22m) moved him up to third in the NCAA rankings. Along with the 4x100, Baker moved up to No. 20 in the nation in the 400m with his 46.18 in Waco. Lavon Collins also improved his national ranking last weekend, moving up to No. 26 in the 400 hurdles at 51.55.

TCU was already ranked in the top 25 in the long jump and 4x400 relay prior to this weekend, and is credited in the rankings for both performances. Bailey is ranked 21st in the long jump for his 25-0 3/4 (7.64m) at the Baylor Quad Meet in March. The men’s 4x400 team of Joshua Washington, Collins, Harvey McSwain and Baker rank No. 22 in the polls for their 3:07.38 at the Texas Invitational in April.

The performances of these men among others helped the TCU men’s team improve from a ninth-place finish with 38 team points at the Big 12 indoor championships to a sixth-place finish with 75 team points at the Big 12 outdoor championships.

Click here to see the full rankings.

Princeton held a three-point lead against Cornell after Day 1. Cornell took over the lead early on Sunday afternoon before Princeton battled back to tie Cornell at 142 with four events remaining.

The 14 points Princeton received in the decathlon, along with a higher finish than Cornell in the 4x800, pushed the Tigers out in front 165-152.

Sophomore Stephen Soerens was the runner-up with 7,212 points - surpassing the meet record of 7,202 set in 2006. Senior Richard Sheldon was third with 7,000 points and Brad Pelisek was sixth with 6,595 points.

The 4x800 of junior Michael Williams, senior Michael Palmisano, senior Nathan Mathabane and senior Peter Callahan placed second at 7:25.82.

The Tigers came up big in the triple jump, nabbing 15 points while Cornell got just two. The 4x400 relay crossed the finish line first knowing the meet was over and the Tigers had won on their home track.

In the final field event of the day, Junior Damon McLean retained his title as he won the triple jump at 15.86 (52 feet-1/2 in.) on his third attempt. Sophomore Nana Owusu-Nyantekyi was fourth with a jump of 15.29 (50-2) and freshman Jake Scinto was sixth as he hit a PR of 14.81 (48-7 1/4). Senior Isaac Serwanga just missed scoring, as he was seventh with a PR of 14.76 (48-5 1/4).

Junior Tom Hopkins led off in the 4x400 before junior Daniel McCord and senior Russell Dinkins received the baton. Senior Austin Hollimon anchored and crossed the line first at 3:10.60.

The 4x100 started the track events out with a second-place finish. Freshman Dre Nelson, freshman John Hill, McCord and Hopkins finished in 40.79 behind Cornell’s meet record of 40.19.

Callahan had an impressive showing in the 1,500m, coming from middle of the pack to win in 3:49.74.

Princeton earned nine points in the 110-meter hurdles as all three Tigers scored. Freshman Greg Caldwell placed third at 14.30, while sophomore Rob Mohr was fifth at 14.31 and Sheldon was sixth at 14.55.

In the 400m, Princeton earned 16 points as Hopkins was the runner-up at 47.09, Hollimon was third at 48.22 and McCord was fifth with a PR of 48.61. Hopkins earned four more points in the 200m taking fourth at 21.29.

Both Princeton finalists scored in the 100m as well. Hill claimed fourth place at 10.66 and sophomore Tumi Akinlawon was sixth at 10.75.

Dinkins won the 800 with a PR of 1:48.24 as he pushed past two Columbia runners on the back stretch for the lead. His time is the fifth fastest in Heps history and the fastest winning time since 2006. Sophomore Bradley Paternostro, who led the first lap, finished fourth with a PR of 1:49.20.

Hollimon took a victory in the 400-meter hurdles. He clocked a 52.30, while freshman Jordan Myers was impressive in his first outdoor Heps, placing fifth at 53.92.

After winning the 10k on Saturday, senior Michael Franklin claimed another victory in the 5k as he literally dived across the finish line. Franklin ran the 5k in 14:10.85, while junior Chris Bendtsen was third at 14:11.65 and sophomore Sam Pons was fifth at 14:14.55 as Princeton accrued 18 points in the final individual track event of the afternoon.

Other point scorers included sophomore Scott Rushton, who threw a PR of 16.60 in the shot put, and sophomore Connor Martin in the steeplechase, as both finished in sixth place.

The UConn coaching staff was selected as the Outdoor Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year. This marks the fourth time that head coach Greg Roy and his staff have earned the accolade in the indoor and outdoor season the same year. This is also the third time that Connecticut has claimed both the indoor and outdoor titles in the same campaign after doing so in 2002 and 2011.

“This was truly a team and program win. This team faced more adversity than maybe any team I've ever had and responded like the champions that they are,” Roy said. “To win the last true Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championship is something everyone associated with the program will cherish. Our decathletes set the table on the first two days and the rest of the kids finished it off [on Sunday].”

Jesse Chapman was the lone Husky to reach the top of the podium, winning the decathlon title on Saturday. Overall, Connecticut finished the meet with 15 top-five finishes.

Senior Chris Whyte led the Huskies on the track on Sunday as he captured second place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.21. Selwyn Maxwell claimed third in the 110-meter hurdles after crossing the finish line in 13.93.

Alvaro Chavez and Alex Bennatan earned four points in the 800m, grabbing sixth (1:51.78) and eighth (1:52.60) place.

In his final conference meet, senior Jesse Drinks totaled eight points after reaching the podium in the 100m dash and finishing seventh (21.76) in the 200. Drinks claimed the bronze in the 100m on Sunday with a time of 10.46.

The UConn relay teams tacked on 14 points with the 4x800 team (James Agati, Alvaro Chavez, Alex Benntan, Tim Bennatan) registering the highest finish, clocking in at 7:36.60 for third place. Connecticut’s 4x400 team (Kyle Twombly, Whyte, Robert Rhodes, Robert Hovanec) took fourth in 3:13.18 and the 4x100 relay squad (David Kenney, Kevin Smith, Tyler Hopson, Hovanec) finished sixth in 41.91.

On the field, Eric Masington headed to the podium for the second time in as many days after recording a toss of 51.88m (170-02) in the discus for third place.

Cory Duggan captured second place in the pole vault with a personal best of 5.15 meters for the silver and eight points.

GREENSBORO, N.C. --

The Hampton Lady Pirates tallied 123 points to win their tenth MEAC outdoor title. Maryland Eastern Shore followed in second place with 119 points and Florida A&M finished third with 104 points.

Hampton head coach Maurice Pierce, who took over the men’s program this year, was named the Outstanding Coach for both programs. Pierce has earned the women’s Outstanding Coach of the Year honor nine times and earned the honor for the first time this year on the men’s side.

“This is unbelievable,” Pierce said. “To win two championships in one year, in this conference, is a tremendous blessing. Both teams worked together and the men were able to feed off the women. These wins are an attribute of these two teams working together as one.”

Ranita Mealer of Morgan State and Kiara Howell of Norfolk State scored 20 points each to earn the Co-Outstanding Field Athlete award, while Petra Kubesova from Maryland Eastern Shore was named the Women’s Outstanding Track and Field Runner.

Kubesoav, the 2013 MEAC Indoor Track and Field Outstanding Runner, continued her record-setting year by breaking records in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:55.02 and the 5,000-meter in 17:15.04. Kubesoav replaced Kadian Dunkley of Bethune-Cookman in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:06.99), who broke the record last year. She also replaced former UMES student-athlete Merrecia James in the 5,000-meter, who held the previous record of 17:41.41 in 2007.

In men’s action, the Hampton Pirates tallied 119 points to earn their first MEAC outdoor championship since sharing the title with Florida A&M in 2004. The last time the Pirates won the title outright was in 2003.

The seven-time defending MEAC champion Norfolk State finished second with 92.50 points, followed by Bethune-Cookman in third with 64 points.

Maryland Eastern Shore’s Dillon Simon recorded 18 points in the field events and was named Outstanding Field Athlete. Florida A&M’s Elias Chesire tallied 25 points on the track to earn the Outstanding Runner honors for the second year in a row.

Chesire was two-tenths of a point from breaking the record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but held on to capture the gold with a time of 9:21.12.  He also finished first in the 5,000-meter (14:51.84) and finished fourth in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:59.96.

USTFCCCA POLL
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Meanwhile, No. 1 Florida was only able to record two performances that improved event rankings positioning, causing the defending champ to slide 10.83 points to 341.84 — reducing the gap between the SEC foes to fewer than 20 points.

Florida State was the biggest mover in this week’s top five, gaining 14.86 net points for a 249.47 team score and moving up two spots to No. 3 behind freshman Zak Seddon’s No. 2 steeplechase performance at the Payton Jordan (8:34.42) and senior Michael Fout’s No. 5 10,000 race (28:52.77).

Indoor champion Arkansas and Oregon were both jumped by Florida State, resulting in the Razorbacks (246.96) dropping to No. 4 and the Ducks (232.59) to No. 5.

“This team did a fine job up here,” Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry said. “This has been the best effort from a team I’ve had at this meet in a long, long time. To win that many championships at this meet is significant. This team definitely left a mark this weekend.”

Webb

Within a span of an hour and a half Saturday, Texas A&M won six events as they swept the men’s and women’s Championship of America titles in the 4x200 relays, the 100/110 hurdles and the 100 meters. Earlier in the day A&M had a win in the college division triple jump and then the Aggies closed out the meet with a victory in the men’s 4x400 while the women placed third.

Individual victories were attained by Donique’ Flemings in the 100 hurdles (13.11 seconds), Wayne Davis II in the 110 hurdles (13.67), Olivia Ekponé in the 100 meters (11.37 career-best) and Ameer Webb in the 100 meters (10.24).

“In the 100 meters and the hurdles, to run those times on this track, is a very good effort,” Henry said. “Running Ameer Webb on the 4x400 gave us a little different look and that is what we wanted to do.”

Webb had a hand in three of the A&M men’s victories on Saturday, running the anchor leg of the 4x200 and the leadoff leg in the 4x400 in addition to his individual win in the 100.

“This is what Texas A&M is all about, we come here to compete,” Webb said. “My plan was to just go out and beat someone [Saturday]. In a relay you have people you have to depend on. In the 100 it’s all you, focusing on your race and doing whatever steps it takes to get the win.”

The Aggie women ran a collegiate-leading 1 minute, 29.98 secionds for the 4x200 victory, recording the third-fastest time in school history. They topped the field by 2 1/2 seconds. The A&M foursome included Ashton Purvis, Ashley Collier, Ekponé and Kamaria Brown.

The 1:29.98 is also the fourth-fastest time in Penn Relays history. The Aggies have possession of four of the top five times ever run at Penn, including the collegiate record of 1:29.42 set in 2010. This was the fifth Penn Relays title in the 4x200 for Texas A&M in the past six years.

Finishing behind the Aggies in the 4x200 were Rutgers (1:32.55), G.C. Foster (1:33.07), Indiana Tech (1:33.46), Houston (1:33.46), Norfolk State (1:34.03), George Mason (1:34.51) and South Carolina (1:34.86).

Entering this year’s Penn Relays with 11 relay victories in the past five years, the Aggie women added three more Championship of America relay wins this year to total 14 trophies in the past six seasons. It’s the second time in three years the A&M women have claimed three relay victories at Penn.

In the men’s 4x200 the Aggies won with a 1:20.75, 10th-best in Penn Relays history and fourth-fastest in school history. The relay crew consisted of Michael Bryan, Prezel Hardy Jr., Aldrich Bailey Jr. and Webb, each of who won their first Penn Relays watch.

A&M expected a strong challenge from UTech, which won the 4x100 earlier in day with a 38.92, and St. Augustine’s, runner-up in the 4x100 with a 39.33. The first exchange of the baton eliminated UTech as it never completed the pass. Meanwhile, the Aggies had a solid start with the exchange from Bryan to Hardy.

When Bailey handed the baton to Webb, stretching the zone a bit, A&M was in control of the outcome. Webb motored to the finish with St. Augustine’s placing second in 1:21.51. The rest of the field included Middle Tennessee (1:23.38), Savannah State (1:23.65), Pittsburgh (1:23.77), South Carolina (1:23.82) and Tennessee (1:23.35).

Flemings advanced to her first final in the 100 hurdles at the Penn Relays and promptly won with a season-best time of 13.11 (0.5 wind), which is currently the fifth-fastest Division I time in 2013.

Flemings defeated a field that included Danielle Williams of Johnson C. Smith (13.15), South Carolina’s Kierre Beckles (13.16), Kayla Parker of Kentucky (13.29), Houston’s Sade Mariah Greenidge (13.35), Evonne Britton of Penn State (13.37), UTech’s Megan Simmonds (13.48), and Kristen Brown of San Diego State (13.69).

“I been practicing for this and trying to do everything correctly,” Flemings said. “I had to get out there, finish well, and don't let anything distract me. I just had to worry about my lane and finish the race. I knew it was going to be close. I just knew I had to concentrate on my race, and just finish.”

Davis

Davis won the 110 hurdles in 13.67 (-0.3 wind) against a 13.85 from Donald Pollitt of Syracuse, a 13.92 by Virginia Tech’s Jeff Artis-Gray and a 13.99 from Keith Hayes of Kentucky. Trey Holloway of Hampton had a false start, but the delay didn’t bother Davis.

“I felt really sloppy going into the race, and I felt like I could have done better,” Davis said. “But it was way better than what I ran last year (13.71 for fourth place), so it’s definitely a win. I didn’t feel like my usual strength coming out of the blocks. I'm coming off an injury, so I'm just trying to get things back together. Compared to where I was last year, I'm already ahead of myself. So I'm happy about that.”

The last set of Aggie individual wins came in the 100 meters. Ekponé had a good start and continued to build a lead against the field the rest of the way, setting a career-best of 11.37 (0.6 wind) for the win, which places her No. 9 on the Aggies' all-time list.

Elaine Thompson of UTech finished second in 11.54 with Indiana Tech’s Adella King third in 11.55. Then three sprinters each clocked 11.70 with Houston’s Kiersten Brewer, Kentucky’s Tamyah Pipkin and Western Carolina’s Tayla Carter placing fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

“It’s amazing, I didn’t think I was actually going to run that fast [Saturday],” Ekponé said. “To be here at the Penn Relays and to run a career-best in the 100 feels extraordinary. This is my first time to run an individual race at Penn.”

Webb needed a strong finish to capture the victory in the men’s 100 as his 10.24 (-0.4) held off the 10.28 from UTech’s Andrew Fisher. Then a set of 10.53s battled for third between St. Augustine’s Taffawee Johnson and Monroe’s Suwaibou Sanneh while Auburn’s Jeremy Hardy placed fifth in 10.55.

In the final event of the meet Webb aided the Aggies' winning effort of 3:02.52 by running the leadoff leg, splitting 46.0 to put the squad in contention. Baily followed with another 46.0 as A&M began to pull away from the field.

Then a 45.4 carry from Carlyle Roudette gave anchor Deon Lendore a very healthy lead. Lendore, who split 44.3 in the prelims, finished off the victory with a 45.1 split as the Aggies won with a solid cushion over the 3:03.96 from St. Augustine’s for second place.

The rest of the field included Pittsburgh (3:04.16), Oregon (3:06.24), Princeton (3:06.26) and Middle Tennessee (3:07.60) while Mississippi State did not finish. The 3:02.52 by the Aggies is the 11th-fastest time at Penn as well as the A&M all-time list.

"It was all about bringing home the gold for the team,” Lendore said. “My teammates went through a lot. We had a hard day of competition with a lot of races. I just wanted to end the day with a bang and that is what we came out to do.

“Last year, I anchored and we lost, so to me this was revenge to show what we really can do. I didn’t want to make the same mistake as last year. When I got the baton, I was delighted that we had the lead. I went out there real comfortably to control the race the best I could.”

Brown

The morning started with a victory for Dave Brown in the men’s college division triple jump. A sixth-round mark of 50-0.5 (15.25) claimed the win against a pair of jumpers from East Carolina -- Allen Bordley and Miles Coates -- who each produced a mark of 49-8.5 (15.15) in the sixth round, as well.

Brown’s best going into the final round was 48-11 (14.91) from the third round. Indiana’s Richard Rouse, who led the competition from a first-round 49-5.5 (15.07), ended up in fourth place.

As the defending champions of the 4x400, the Aggie women were in contention of winning a fourth Championship of America title this weekend at the Penn Relays. A very game effort had A&M posting a time of 3:27.89, the third-fastest in school history, which placed them third in a very competitive race.

Oregon won the race with a Penn Relays and Franklin Field record of 3:26.73 while UTech finished second in 3:27.85. The Ducks broke the meet record of 3:27.64 set by Texas in 2003 while UTech equaled the second-fastest time at Penn.

The Aggies' mark is now fifth on the all-time Penn Relays list. The A&M crew consisted of Ekponé (53.4), Ibukun Mayungbe (51.6), LaKeidra Stewart (52.7) and Kamaria Brown (50.2).

Finishing behind the Aggies were Penn State (3:33.47), St. Augustine’s (3:33.63), George Mason (3:33.72), Hampton (3:35.17) and LSU (3:36.00).

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Northern Arizona's Diego Estrada, a 2012 Olympian and nine-time All-American, will take on 23 of the world’s best distance runners in the 5,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational on Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif., a year removed from qualifying for his Olympic bid at the same meet.

“Diego [Estrada] has not run a 5,000-meter race outdoors yet this season, so he’s looking to go run a fast race,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins said. “The main goal will be for him to get his qualifier for not only the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, but for the NCAA West Regional meet as well.”

Estrada has always performed exceptionally well throughout his storied career with the Lumberjacks at the meet, held annually at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field. In fact, his current personal bests in both the 5,000 (13:26.94) and 10,000 meters (27:32.90) came at Payton Jordan in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Estrada’s Payton Jordan appearance last April in the 10,000 meters was his meal ticket to becoming an Olympian for his native Mexico, while his 5,000-meter time from 2011 is the second fastest in NAU and Big Sky Conference history. Because Estrada’s time in the 10,000 meter came during his redshirt season, however, it did not count in school or conference record books.

The field around Estrada is among the toughest he has faced while wearing an NAU uniform, but after finishing the indoor season second nationally in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 3,000 meters, he is up to the challenge. Just four other collegians have entered the race, two of whom Estrada beat at NCAA indoor championships in the 5,000 meters, while the rest will be a mix of athletes competing unattached, for club teams or for their national teams.

As far as post-collegiate runners are concerned, two-time NCAA cross country champion Sam Chelanga, formerly of Liberty, American mile record-holder Alan Webb, former Stanford All-American and recent USA Cross Country champion Chris Derrick, American 10,000-meter record holder Chris Solinsky and Evan Jager, who finished sixth in the steeplechase at the London Olympics, will all be competing on Sunday.

To put Payton Jordan’s prowess as a distance relay event into perspective, according to Stanford’s website, 22 of the 40 fastest times by American men were run at the 2012 meet. Among those times, the men’s 5,000 last year featured four of the seven top American times and 13 of the top 50.