NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championship Preview
GULF SHORES, Ala. – (
Live Video Streaming) The 63rd annual Men’s and 34th annual Women’s National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will bring in over 150 men’s and women’s programs to Gulf Shores, Ala., from
May 22-24. Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium will host this year’s event for the first time. The national championships begin at
10 a.m. EDT Thursday with the men’s decathlon and women’s hammer throw. The women’s heptathlon will begin at
10:30 a.m.
NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video-streaming company of 17 select NAIA national championship events, will broadcast live video of the national championship for the first time. A subscription package to view the three-day event is $5.95. To access the live video feed, click
here.
Seventy-one events will take place over the three-day span. The field events will continue
Thursday with the men’s hammer throw starting at
1 p.m. On Friday, the men’s decathlon will continue and begin at
9:30 a.m., while the women’s heptathlon will start at
10:30 a.m., respectively. Field events will begin at
1 p.m. with the women’s shot put and men’s long jump.
The national champions and award winners will be recognized at
6:50 p.m. on Saturday. The top eight athletes in each event and top eight relay teams will earn team points and achieve NAIA All-America status.
Indiana Tech swept the men’s and women’s side in 2013. It was the first national championship for either team in school history. Oklahoma Baptist also returns, after finishing second on the men’s and women’s side last year.
Indiana Tech lands the most athletes participating on the women’s side with 26, followed by Doane (Neb.) with 23.
Doane is the leader of all 2014 women’s qualifiers with two national championship rings. The Tigers are looking to get back the hardware for the first time since 2002. Doane currently sits behind former NAIA members Prairie View A&M (Texas), Central State (Ohio) and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) for most team championships all-time.
Akela Jones of Oklahoma Baptist is the reigning National Championships Most Valuable Performer and a 2013 All-American. Jones won the award as a freshman last year, after taking the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and high jump.
Wayland Baptist (Texas), who finished eighth last year, looks to win its third team title since 2008, and first since 2009.
On the men’s side, Indiana Tech returns after winning the 2013 championship crown. The Warriors narrowly defeated Oklahoma Baptist by four points last year. 2013 Coach of the Year Doug Edgar brings the most athletes to the event with 23 Warriors. The team is led by freshman Ini-Oluwa Oye, who is seeded first in the 200-meter dash. The Warriors also boast the top-seeded 4x400-meter relay team comprised of Dareyus Person, Austen Barnes, Deshawn Marshall, Robert Rose and Deshawn Woods.
Concordia (Neb.) and Oklahoma Baptist have the second most participants on the men’s side at this year’s national championship with 22.
Doane, Dickinson State (N.D.) and Wayland Baptist return to the national championship after finishing in the top-five last year. Doane is looking for its first national championship in team history.
Gulf Shores, Ala., is the 22nd different city to host the championship event, which began in 1952 with men’s competition. Twenty-five different teams have won at least one team national championship. Four teams have claimed at least four titles, led by former member Azusa Pacific with 15 total championships. On the women’s side, 14 different programs have won a national championship. Two schools have at least five championships, with former member Prairie View A&M leading the way with nine titles.
For complete information on the national championships, click
here for the men and
here for the women.