USATF Championships To Have Distinct Ashland Flavor

USATF Championships To Have Distinct Ashland Flavor

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USA Track & Field's two outdoor national championships are coming up, and it won't be hard to find former and current Ashland University athletes at either event.

The 2018 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships will be Friday-Sunday (June 15-17) at Hayes Track at the Haugh Complex in Bloomington, Ind., on the Indiana University campus, while the 2018 USATF Outdoor Championships will be contested June 21-24 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, at Drake University. In all, seven former and current Eagles will be at those two championship events.

The USATF Outdoor Championships will have athletes with Ashland ties, including soon-to-be senior Myles Pringle in the men's 400-meter dash. Pringle is a four-time NCAA Division II national champion in the 400 (indoors and outdoors combined), has the fastest D-II indoor 400 men's time in history at 45.93 seconds, and is the eighth-fastest D-II outdoor men's 400 runner ever.

Coming off their successes at indoor nationals in February, Ashland alums Katie Nageotte and Drew Windle look for more at outdoor nationals. In the women's pole vault, Nageotte won a national title indoors, became one of the top women's pole vaulters indoors in world history and took fifth at indoor worlds. In the men's 800 run, Windle became the fastest American ever at indoor worlds in the event, and placed second at indoor nationals.

Nageotte is tied for the 13th-best women's outdoor pole vault mark in the world in 2018, at 4.71 meters.

Former Eagles Jordan Crayon and Daniel Roberts will compete in the men's hammer throw at outdoor nationals. Crayon won a D-II national title indoors in the weight throw in 2016, and Roberts did the same outdoors in the hammer throw in 2017.

The winner of each event at nationals qualifies for the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup, Sept. 8-9 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Brent Fairbanks, who recently finished his true freshman season, and Lindsay Baker, who redshirted and will begin competing collegiately in 2018-19, will be in action this week at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships. Fairbanks will go in the men's hammer throw, while Baker will do so in the women's shot put.

In 2018, Fairbanks qualified for D-II nationals both indoors in the weight throw and outdoors in the hammer throw.

If Fairbanks and/or Baker finish in the top two in their respective events, they would move on to the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships, July 10-15 in Tampere, Finland.

 

2018 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships

- Brent Fairbanks, men's hammer throw (6 kg) – Friday, June 15, 2 p.m.

- Lindsay Baker, women's shot put (4 kg) – Sunday, June 17, 3 p.m.

 

2018 USATF Outdoor Championships

- Myles Pringle, men's 400 dash – Thursday, June 21, 6:05 p.m. (prelims); Friday, June 22, 7:20 p.m. (semifinals); Saturday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. (finals)

- Drew Windle, men's 800 run – Thursday, June 21, 3:40 p.m. (prelims); Friday, June 22, 8:05 p.m. (semifinals); Sunday, June 24, 4:13 p.m. (finals)

- Jordan Crayon and Daniel Roberts, men's hammer throw – Friday, June 22, 4:20 p.m.

- Katie Nageotte, women's pole vault – Sunday, June 24, 2:55 p.m.

 

 

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