Wednesday, June 5
Austin, Texas
Michigan State University
at
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Spartan Track & Field Begins NCAA Championships Wednesday
6/3/2019 10:58:00 PM | Track and Field
Michigan State will have six athletes competing.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State track & field will conclude postseason action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Wednesday-Saturday, June 5-8. The Spartans have a total of six entries in the NCAA Finals, including three men and three women. Wednesday and Friday will be men's competition, with the women taking center stage on Thursday and Saturday. The heptathlon will begin on Friday and conclude on Saturday.
"We are looking forward to competing in Austin. I think that the energy will different than in Eugene, but I don't think that it will bad energy. First of all when you get a collection of that many world-class athletes in one place the energy is going to be outstanding. From a competitive standpoint, I don't think people will miss a beat. The biggest difference is going to be weather more than anything else. Austin is a great city, so I think this will be outstanding," Director of track & field Walt Drenth said.
Action begins on Wednesday, June 5 with the men's decathlon at 3 p.m. ET. Redshirt-senior Justine Kiprotich will be the first Spartan in action in the  semifinals of the men's 1,500m, which are scheduled to begin at 7:46 p.m. ET.Â
On the second day of competition on Thursday, June 6, junior Dillon McClintock will get MSU going with the semifinals of the 1,500m at 8:16 p.m. ET. Junior Karrigan Smith  will compete in her first NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 3,000m steeplechase at 8:32 p.m. ET.Â
Friday and Saturday will feature finals in all competition, as well as the heptathlon. National Champions will be crowned on the men's side on Friday, June 7 and with the women on Saturday, June 8.Â
1 | EXPERIENCE LEADS THE WAY
Michigan State will have four athletes competing in its first NCAA Outdoor Championship, but redshirt-senior Justine Kiprotich and junior Dillon McClintock will provide experience for MSU. Kiprotich and McClintock and will compete in the men and women's 1,500m respectively. Kiprotich finished second in the 1,500m in the NCAA Finals in 2017 and seventh in 2018, earning first-team All-American honors. McClintock was 10th last season to earn second-team All-American accolades.
"The calming effect on the group may come from Justine and Dillon. Justine has had pretty good success at the National Championships. So he has a fair amount of calm around him, but there is a fair amount at stake for everybody. The biggest thing is understanding the value of going in and being yourself, and not trying to do things you don't normally do," Drenth added.
2 | THE DISTANCE SQUAD
The Spartan distance crew will also feature a pair of newcomers in sophomore Morgan Beadlescomb and junior Karrigan Smith. Beadlescomb will makes his NCAA Finals debut in the 5,000m after finishing fourth in the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round with a time of 14:15.06. Smith continues a long-standing tradition of Spartan success in the 3,000m steeplechase. The junior reached the final with a personal-best time of 10:08.24 at the NCAA East Prelims, finishing 10th.Â
"Morgan's expectations are high, as are Karrigan's, because the Big Ten Conference is just so good that when you start looking at descending order lists and where people fit in they see familiar faces. They say 'I raced with them; I beat them.' So they believe they can make the final and be pretty competitive," Drenth said.
3 | SENAKIEWICH EARNS REGIONAL HONOR
MSU track & field associate head coach Lisa Senakiewich was named Great Lakes Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year; it was announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Senakiewich, in her ninth year with the program, captured her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor. She also becomes the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
Under Senakiewich's tutelage, Michigan State had two athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Finals, with Dillon McClintock qualifying in the 1,500m and Karrigan Smith reaching in the 3,000m steeplechase.Â
4 | WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Sophomore Jerimiah Evans will be making his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut in the men's discus. He reached the finals by finishing eighth in the NCAA East Preliminary Round with a throw of 58.04m. His season-best throw came at the Jesse Owens Classic with a throw of 61.22m, which was a school record. Last season, he reached the NCAA East Prelims, finishing 16th.
"We know that Jerimiah has big throws in him. I think his progression this year has been outstanding. Last year, he had some good breakthrough throws. What he has learned to do is to compete and have a good presence in those big meets. He is one of the best guys in the country, and if the wind is right I think that we will see a huge throw out of him," Drenth added.
5 | BACK IN THE SADDLE
Junior Asya Reynolds also is advancing to her first NCAA Finals. Reynolds is one of two Big Ten Champions appearing in the finals for MSU along with Justine Kiprotich. Reynolds set the school record with 5,520 points en route to winning the Big Ten title.
"The rest and the training were really important for Asya last week. She is excited and ready to go. I think for her it is just fine tuning things. If she hits in the events that she has been successful at, specifically the long jump and the hurdles, she will do very well. She was a national level kid in high school and her expectations are to be here, " Drenth said.
Despite winning his second-straight Big Ten title in the decathlon in May, Michigan State junior Nick Guerrant will not take place in the NCAA Finals for the second-straight season. Due to an injury, Guerrant will be out of action the remainder of the season.
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"We are looking forward to competing in Austin. I think that the energy will different than in Eugene, but I don't think that it will bad energy. First of all when you get a collection of that many world-class athletes in one place the energy is going to be outstanding. From a competitive standpoint, I don't think people will miss a beat. The biggest difference is going to be weather more than anything else. Austin is a great city, so I think this will be outstanding," Director of track & field Walt Drenth said.
Action begins on Wednesday, June 5 with the men's decathlon at 3 p.m. ET. Redshirt-senior Justine Kiprotich will be the first Spartan in action in the  semifinals of the men's 1,500m, which are scheduled to begin at 7:46 p.m. ET.Â
On the second day of competition on Thursday, June 6, junior Dillon McClintock will get MSU going with the semifinals of the 1,500m at 8:16 p.m. ET. Junior Karrigan Smith  will compete in her first NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 3,000m steeplechase at 8:32 p.m. ET.Â
Friday and Saturday will feature finals in all competition, as well as the heptathlon. National Champions will be crowned on the men's side on Friday, June 7 and with the women on Saturday, June 8.Â
1 | EXPERIENCE LEADS THE WAY
Michigan State will have four athletes competing in its first NCAA Outdoor Championship, but redshirt-senior Justine Kiprotich and junior Dillon McClintock will provide experience for MSU. Kiprotich and McClintock and will compete in the men and women's 1,500m respectively. Kiprotich finished second in the 1,500m in the NCAA Finals in 2017 and seventh in 2018, earning first-team All-American honors. McClintock was 10th last season to earn second-team All-American accolades.
"The calming effect on the group may come from Justine and Dillon. Justine has had pretty good success at the National Championships. So he has a fair amount of calm around him, but there is a fair amount at stake for everybody. The biggest thing is understanding the value of going in and being yourself, and not trying to do things you don't normally do," Drenth added.
2 | THE DISTANCE SQUAD
The Spartan distance crew will also feature a pair of newcomers in sophomore Morgan Beadlescomb and junior Karrigan Smith. Beadlescomb will makes his NCAA Finals debut in the 5,000m after finishing fourth in the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round with a time of 14:15.06. Smith continues a long-standing tradition of Spartan success in the 3,000m steeplechase. The junior reached the final with a personal-best time of 10:08.24 at the NCAA East Prelims, finishing 10th.Â
"Morgan's expectations are high, as are Karrigan's, because the Big Ten Conference is just so good that when you start looking at descending order lists and where people fit in they see familiar faces. They say 'I raced with them; I beat them.' So they believe they can make the final and be pretty competitive," Drenth said.
3 | SENAKIEWICH EARNS REGIONAL HONOR
MSU track & field associate head coach Lisa Senakiewich was named Great Lakes Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year; it was announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Senakiewich, in her ninth year with the program, captured her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor. She also becomes the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
Under Senakiewich's tutelage, Michigan State had two athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Finals, with Dillon McClintock qualifying in the 1,500m and Karrigan Smith reaching in the 3,000m steeplechase.Â
4 | WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Sophomore Jerimiah Evans will be making his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut in the men's discus. He reached the finals by finishing eighth in the NCAA East Preliminary Round with a throw of 58.04m. His season-best throw came at the Jesse Owens Classic with a throw of 61.22m, which was a school record. Last season, he reached the NCAA East Prelims, finishing 16th.
"We know that Jerimiah has big throws in him. I think his progression this year has been outstanding. Last year, he had some good breakthrough throws. What he has learned to do is to compete and have a good presence in those big meets. He is one of the best guys in the country, and if the wind is right I think that we will see a huge throw out of him," Drenth added.
5 | BACK IN THE SADDLE
Junior Asya Reynolds also is advancing to her first NCAA Finals. Reynolds is one of two Big Ten Champions appearing in the finals for MSU along with Justine Kiprotich. Reynolds set the school record with 5,520 points en route to winning the Big Ten title.
"The rest and the training were really important for Asya last week. She is excited and ready to go. I think for her it is just fine tuning things. If she hits in the events that she has been successful at, specifically the long jump and the hurdles, she will do very well. She was a national level kid in high school and her expectations are to be here, " Drenth said.
Despite winning his second-straight Big Ten title in the decathlon in May, Michigan State junior Nick Guerrant will not take place in the NCAA Finals for the second-straight season. Due to an injury, Guerrant will be out of action the remainder of the season.
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Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
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