The Warm-Up Lap: Payton Jordan & Conference Meets in DII, DIII and NAIA Top the Weekend

NEW ORLEANS – Despite conference championship meets having been contested since the middle of April, this first weekend of May is the busiest of the year so far for league meets – particularly in Divisions II and III and the NAIA – while Division I is still split between conference meets, qualifiers and tune-ups.

Of those tune-ups and qualifiers, Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational sticks out among the crowd as the highest-profile of the week, particularly in the distance events as competitors look for one final chance to clock fast qualifying times before their league meets – making it the pick for USTFCCCA Division I National Meet of the Week.

The GLIAC Championships are the Division II National Meet of the Week, while the WIAC Championships take the weekly honor in Division III. The NAIA’s National Meet of the Week are the GPAC Championships.

More information on each of those meets can be found below.

USTFCCCA InfoZone: Broadcast Schedule

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Friday, May 2, 2014

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Payton Jordan and Division I

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Defending and former NCAA champions will be in action in both the men’s and women’s steeplechase races in 2013 men’s champ Anthony Rotich of UTEP and 2012 women’s winner Shalaya Kipp of Colorado.

Rotich will have to square off with 2013 third-place finisher Stanley Kebenei and Oregon newcomer Tanguy Pepiot, while Kipp will contend with 2013 runner-up Colleen Quigley of Florida State and finalist Grace Heymsfield of Arkansas.

Former NCAA champs also headline both the men’s and women’s 10,000 meters fields. Former cross country/indoor 5000 meters champ Kennedy Kithuka, who finished runner-up in XC this year, will take on fifth-place finisher Jim Rosa of Stanford and 10th-placer Luke Caldwell of New Mexico.

Juliett Bottorff, the 2011 10,000 meters national champion from Duke, will face off with the No. 2 and 3 finishers from 2013 XC in Boise State’s Emma Bates and Iona’s Kate Avery.

The men’s 5000 meters might be the most significant collegiate race of them all, with cross country champion Colorado running all four of its All-Americans among a field featuring nine total 2014 XC All-Americans. Fourth-place finisher Futsum Zienasellassie of Northern Arizona, seventh-place Andrew Colley of NC State and Colorado’s eight-place frosh Ben Saarel headline the collegians.

Aisling Cuffe of Stanford, fourth in cross country this past fall, headlines a women’s 5000 that also features eight All-Americans.

In the women’s 1500 meters, Indoor mile runner-up Stephanie Brown of Arkansas will battle 2013 NCAA outdoor 1500 meters runner-up and World Championships qualifier Cory McGee of Florida and six more 2013 XC All-Americans.

Elsewhere around the nation in Division I are 10 conference championship meets listed below, mostly on the East Coast and in the Midwest, along with a SEC preview between the No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas A&M men – both defending co-national champions – and the No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Texas A&M women at the LSU Invitational on Saturday.

This Weekend’s Div. I Conference Championships Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division I conference championships can be found here. America East May 3 – 4 American May 2 – 3 Atlantic 10 May 3 – 4 CAA May 2 – 3 Horizon League May 2 – 4 MEAC May 1 – 3 MAAC May 3 – 4 NEC May 3 – 4       OVC May 2 – 3 Patriot League May 2 – 3

GLIAC Championships and Division II

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As the top Division II conference in the USTFCCCA conference index – based on the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings – on the men’s side and the No. 2 team on the women’s side, the GLIAC Championships – which started Wednesday in Geneva, Ohio, and conclude Friday – are set to be among the most exciting meets of the week, regardless of Division.

No. 1 Grand Valley State’s women will look to take their 15th consecutive league title over No. 5 Ashland and No. 25 Tiffin, while the No. 3 Ashland men will wrangle with No. 6 GVSU, No. 14 Findlay and No. 19 Lake Erie.

Since 2010, Ashland has claimed the title twice, including last year, while GVSU has take the other two.

Among the elite student-athletes in action are top-ranked women’s pole vaulter Kristen Hixson, top-ranked men’s 800-meters runner Drew Windle of Ashland and top-ranked men’s hammer thrower Justin Welch of Findlay.

Other conference meets to watch for in Division II are the MIAA and RMAC Championships. More info on both meets and all ten of this weekend’s conference meets can be found below or on the USTFCCCA Conference Championships Central page.

This Weekend’s Div. II Conference Championships Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division II conference championships can be found here. CACC May 4 CCAA May 1 – 2 GLIAC Apr. 30 – May 2 GLVC May 2 – 3 Lone Star May 1 – 3 MIAA May 1 – 3 Mountain East May 2 – 3 Northeast-10 May 2 – 3       PSAC May 1 – 3 RMAC May 4 – 5

WIAC Championships and Division III

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Wisconsin, no matter how chilly it may still be, is historically a hotbed of Division III action, typified each year by the WIAC Championships. This year’s meet at UW-Oshkosh on Friday and Saturday is no different as both top-ranked teams in the country come from the conference in the defending national champion UW-La Crosse men and the UW-Oshkosh women.

The UWL men have won every year since 1991, but will this be the year No. 2 UW-Oshkosh or No. 3 UW-Eau Claire takes them down? Also in the field are top-10 squads in No. 8 UW-Whitewater and No. 10 UW-Stout.

UWL’s women have been similarly dominant with league titles in six of the past eight years to UWO’s two during that same time. However, La Crosse has not won both the league and the NCAA titles in the same year since 1984, while UW-Oshkosh did it both in 2011 and 2006, in addition to winning the NCAA crown in 2007 after not winning the WIAC.

Can La Crosse break through and win both the WIAC and the NCAA? That first step is this week. Or will UW-Oshkosh take the meet as the national favorite? Or could No. 5 UW-Whitewater, No. 9 UW-Stout or No. 19 UW-Eau Claire surprise for the title?

This meet is just one of 14 conference meets around the country this weekend. More info on each can be found below or on the USTFCCCA Conference Championships Central page.

This Weekend’s Div. III Conference Championships Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of Division III conference championships can be found here. Capital May 3 – 4 CCIW May 2 – 3 Centennial May 2 – 4 CUNYAC May 4 Landmark May 3 – 4 MIAA May 1 – 2 MAC May 1 – 3 NACC May 2 – 3 NCAC May 2 – 3 NJAC May 3 – 4 SCIAC May 2 – 3 SUNYAC May 2 – 3       UMAC May 3 WIAC May 2 – 3

GPAC Championships and the NAIA

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Three top-10 women’s teams from the NAIA will all be battling for the GPAC Conference crown at Doane (Neb.) this Friday and Saturday, along with four top-25 men’s teams, to highlight the weekend’s NAIA action.

No. 4 Doane (Neb.) is the top-ranked team in the field on the women’s side, followed closely by No. 7 Concordia (Neb.) and No. 10 Hastings (Neb.).

The No. 5 Concordia men headline their field, challenged most notably by No. 10 Doane. No. 18 Hastings and No. 25 Nebraska Wesleyan will also challenge for the title.

The GPAC Championships are among the six NAIA conference meets this weekend. More info on each can be found below or on the USTFCCCA Conference Championships Central page.

This Weekend’s NAIA Conference Championships Click on each conference logo to be directed to more info about the meet. The full listing of NAIA conference championships can be found here. CCAC May 2 – 3 GPAC May 2 – 3 HAAC May 2 – 3 KCAC May 1 – 2       MCC May 1 WHAC May 1 – 2