Wednesday, June 5
Austin, Texas
3:00 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
NCAA Championships
Air Force Pair Heads to NCAA Outdoor Championships
6/3/2019 9:10:00 AM | Track and Field
Michael Rhoads kicks off the week in the 800-meter semifinal on Wednesday (June 5) night.
SCHEDULE UPDATE (AS OF JUNE 4): Due to Wednesday's projected weather forecast, the men's events have been moved up 2.5 hours. Michael Rhoads' 800-meter semifinal will now run at 5:44 pm (CT) and all running events will still be broadcast on ESPN2.
The collegiate track and field season comes to a close this week, as senior Jaci Smith and junior Michael Rhoads travel to Austin, Texas, to represent the Academy at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
MEET INFORMATION
The four-day NCAA Outdoor Championship event, which will run from June 5-8, which be held in Austin, Texas, for the first time since 2004. The men will compete on Wednesday and Friday, while the women's events will be held on Thursday and Saturday (the Falcons' schedule is located in the Meet Information box). Single-day admission, which is $22 (general) and $35 (reserved) for the first two days (June 5-6) and $25 (general) and $40 (reserved) for the final two days (June 7-8), can be purchased in advance at ncaa.com/tickets. Live results will be available each day, while AF-specific highlights will be available on the team's office Twitter account (@af_trackfield).
WHO TO WATCH
Michael Rhoads (800-meter run) and Jaci Smith (5000-meter run) – the same pair that ran for Air Force at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March – will represent the Falcons in the national championship meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Smith will compete in the national final of the 5000-meter run, while Rhoads will open his competition in the national semifinal.
HOW TO WATCH
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be broadcast live, in its entirety, on the ESPN Family of Networks. All running events will be aired on the two main networks, while event-specific streams for each field event will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Daily Air Force information is listed below.
Wednesday Night Men's Running Events | ESPN2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT
Friday Night Men's Running Events | ESPN, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT
Saturday Night Women's Running Events | ESPN2, beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT
HOW THEY GOT THERE
Air Force's duo qualified to final site of the NCAA Outdoor Championships after claiming automatic bids in their events at the West Preliminary on May 23-25. Jaci Smith posted an Academy-record 5000-meter time of 15:38.44 to finish third in her heat and secure her spot into the finals, while Michael Rhoads, who had to run in a pair of 800-meter events in Sacramento, claimed his ticket to Austin after clocking a time of 1:48.09 to finish third in his heat of the regional final.
FAST FACTS
Michael Rhoads and Jaci Smith also represented the Academy at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past March and earned First-Team All-America honors in the same two events they will be competing in at the Outdoor meet (Smith added a second-team honor in the 3000-meter run at the Indoor meet). Smith will be making her second-straight trip to the final site of the Outdoor meet, having captured First-Team All-American status in the 10,000-meter run last year, while Rhoads will be making his first appearance as an Outdoor competitor, although he traveled to the 2017 championship as an alternate for the 4x400-meter relay.
HISTORY 101
A total of 24 Falcons have combined for 35 All-America awards at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, while the women have accounted for 24 additional awards (11 individuals, three relays) at the NCAA Division II level (1981-96). Jim Murphy (5000-meter run: 1964) and Dana Pounds (javelin throw: 2005, 2006) are the Falcons' two DI national champions, while Pounds, Nick Frawley and Sara Neubauer lead the program's DI record book with three Outdoor All-America awards apiece.
ROCHE EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Holding a 3.95 GPA in chemistry, Preston Roche was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District VII Men's Track/Field and Cross Country Team, as presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), on May 28. Roche is the 20th different Falcon to earn academic all-district honors from CoSIDA (26 total selections), as the Falcons' track and field program has accounted for at least one academic all-district award during 13 of the last 14 years.
The collegiate track and field season comes to a close this week, as senior Jaci Smith and junior Michael Rhoads travel to Austin, Texas, to represent the Academy at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
MEET INFORMATION
The four-day NCAA Outdoor Championship event, which will run from June 5-8, which be held in Austin, Texas, for the first time since 2004. The men will compete on Wednesday and Friday, while the women's events will be held on Thursday and Saturday (the Falcons' schedule is located in the Meet Information box). Single-day admission, which is $22 (general) and $35 (reserved) for the first two days (June 5-6) and $25 (general) and $40 (reserved) for the final two days (June 7-8), can be purchased in advance at ncaa.com/tickets. Live results will be available each day, while AF-specific highlights will be available on the team's office Twitter account (@af_trackfield).
WHO TO WATCH
Michael Rhoads (800-meter run) and Jaci Smith (5000-meter run) – the same pair that ran for Air Force at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March – will represent the Falcons in the national championship meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Smith will compete in the national final of the 5000-meter run, while Rhoads will open his competition in the national semifinal.
HOW TO WATCH
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be broadcast live, in its entirety, on the ESPN Family of Networks. All running events will be aired on the two main networks, while event-specific streams for each field event will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Daily Air Force information is listed below.
Wednesday Night Men's Running Events | ESPN2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT
Friday Night Men's Running Events | ESPN, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT
Saturday Night Women's Running Events | ESPN2, beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT
HOW THEY GOT THERE
Air Force's duo qualified to final site of the NCAA Outdoor Championships after claiming automatic bids in their events at the West Preliminary on May 23-25. Jaci Smith posted an Academy-record 5000-meter time of 15:38.44 to finish third in her heat and secure her spot into the finals, while Michael Rhoads, who had to run in a pair of 800-meter events in Sacramento, claimed his ticket to Austin after clocking a time of 1:48.09 to finish third in his heat of the regional final.
FAST FACTS
Michael Rhoads and Jaci Smith also represented the Academy at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past March and earned First-Team All-America honors in the same two events they will be competing in at the Outdoor meet (Smith added a second-team honor in the 3000-meter run at the Indoor meet). Smith will be making her second-straight trip to the final site of the Outdoor meet, having captured First-Team All-American status in the 10,000-meter run last year, while Rhoads will be making his first appearance as an Outdoor competitor, although he traveled to the 2017 championship as an alternate for the 4x400-meter relay.
HISTORY 101
A total of 24 Falcons have combined for 35 All-America awards at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, while the women have accounted for 24 additional awards (11 individuals, three relays) at the NCAA Division II level (1981-96). Jim Murphy (5000-meter run: 1964) and Dana Pounds (javelin throw: 2005, 2006) are the Falcons' two DI national champions, while Pounds, Nick Frawley and Sara Neubauer lead the program's DI record book with three Outdoor All-America awards apiece.
ROCHE EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Holding a 3.95 GPA in chemistry, Preston Roche was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District VII Men's Track/Field and Cross Country Team, as presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), on May 28. Roche is the 20th different Falcon to earn academic all-district honors from CoSIDA (26 total selections), as the Falcons' track and field program has accounted for at least one academic all-district award during 13 of the last 14 years.
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