June 25, 2009
- 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Central
- 2009 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships Central
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
IOWA CITY, IA — Seven current or former Iowa Hawkeyes will head to Oregon this weekend to compete in the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships.
Hawkeye sophomores Zack Braff, Chase Kadlec and D’Juan Richardson, and redshirt freshman Thomas Reynolds will compete in the Junior National Championships, while former Hawkeyes Racheal Marchand, Meghan Armstrong and John Hickey will compete in the Senior National events. The four-day event, which began Thursday morning, will be held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene. That venue was the site of the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1972, 1976, 1980 and 2008.
Marchand and Armstrong will kick things off for Iowa, running in the women’s 5,000 meters Friday. Reynolds will compete in the finals of the men’s discus, while Richardson (men’s 400-meter hurdles), Kadlec (men’s 1,500 meters) and Braff (men’s 800 meters) will compete in the first rounds of their respective events Saturday in an attempt to qualify for Sunday’s finals. Hickey is set to compete in the men’s shot put Sunday.
Portions of the meet will air Friday on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. and Saturday from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and NBC Sunday, 3-5 p.m.
The 2009 U.S. Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships will serve as the selection meet for the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, which will be held at Hasley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad on July 31st and August 1st & 2nd. The top two finishers in each event will qualify to compete in these Championships. Athletes competing in the senior national events are vying for a spot on Team USA for the 2009 IAAF Championships, which are set for August 15-23 in Berlin, Germany. The senior national meet is also the final event for the 2009 USATF Outdoor Visa Championship Series.