Six Track & Field Athletes Compete at NCAA Championships

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PRINCETON, N.J. (6/5/14) - Six members of the Princeton track & field teams will compete at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., from June 10-13. The meet will take place at Historic Haywood Field on the campus of University of Oregon.

A member of the Princeton OAC will be on hand in Eugene to bring you a daily blog, photo gallery and videos. Follow along on Twitter as well @PUTigers. Portions of the championship will be aired on the ESPN family of stations networks (see chart above). All times are Pacific, local times.

The reigning hammer throw champion Julia Ratcliffe looks to repeat in the event. The final is slated for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The top nine after three attempts will move on to the final for three more attempts. Ratcliffe enters the meet ranked third in the nation with a throw of 68.53 (224-10) from the ECAC Championship. She will have to get past Brook Pleger (Bowling Green) who has been the nation's leader this season and now has a season best of 69.72 (228-9). She was third last year. Daina Levy (Kansas) threw her best at the West prelim last weekend, a 69.01 (226-5). She did not compete at NCAAs last year as she had to sit out a year after transferring from Auburn. Levy was 14th in the even in 2013 as a Tiger.

Sophomore Megan Curham makes her return to NCAA Championship in the 10k. She earned second-team All-America honors in the event last year as she took 11th place. The final will take place on Thursday at 6:38 p.m. Three additional competitors from last year return, including the national champion Emma Bates (Boise State), who has the second-best time this year behind the leader Dominique Scott (Arkansas). Also returning are Margo Malone (Syracuse), Katy Moen (Iowa State) and Emily Stites (William & Mary). Curham has run a 34:07.08 this season, and posted a 33:29.03 at the NCAA championships a year ago. Her PR of 33:24.79 is the Princeton school record.

Junior Cecilia Barowski makes her NCAA debut in the 800. The semifinal is slated for Thursday at 5:44 p.m. There will be three heats in the semifinal with the top two from each heat plus the next two fastest times advancing to the eight-person final on Saturday. Barowski qualified by clocking a 2:05.02 at the East Regional, though she owns a PR of 2:02.14 from 2014. She is one of eight conference champions competing in the meet and is joined by five returners from last year's meet. Claudia Saunders (Stanford) is the top returner from last year's final - she was the runner-up. The nation's leaders are Natoya Goule (Clemson), Chrishuna Williams (Arkansas) and Raevyn Rogers (Oregon) who all have all run under 2:02.

Sophomore Lizzie Bird will run in the semifinals of the steeplechase on Thursday at 4:38 p.m. The top five from each of two heats plus the next two best times will qualify for Saturday's final. Last year's champion Leah O'Connor (Michigan State) is back for her senior season and is joined by seven others from last year, including the runner-up Marisa Howard (Boise State) and third-place finisher Rachel Johnson (Baylor). O'Connor is one of three steeplers to have run under 9:40, joined by the nation's leader Courtney Frerichs (UMKC) and Colleen Quigley (Florida State). This is the first time Bird has reached championship weekend. She has a PR of 9:54.76 run last week at the East Regional.

Senior Sam Pons will tackle the 10k final for the first time in his career. He makes his way to Eugene after running a 29:54 at the East Regional and has run a PR of 29:35 earlier this season. The final is set for Wednesday at 6:43 p.m. Pons will contend with five returners from last year's final including the national champion Edward Cheserek (Oregon). Jason Witt (BYU) was 12th last year and enters the meet with the top time of the season at 27:54.

Stephen Soerens competes in the decathlon on Wedensday and Thursday. He is one of of six conference champions competing and has a PR from of 7,319 from this year's Heps. Four returners from last year are back include the champion Maicel Uibo (Georgia), third-placer Dakotah Keys (Oregon) and fourth-place Garrett Scantling (Georgia). Uibo and Scantling have the top two scores entering the meet, both over 8,000 points. Five events will be held on Wednesday: 100 (11:30 a.m.), long jump (12:15 p.m.), shot put (1:30 p.m.), high jump (2:45 p.m.) and 400 (5:44). The final five are on Thursday: 110 hurdles (10 a.m.), discus (11 a.m.), pole vault (1 p.m.), javelin (3:15 p.m.) and 1500 (6:28 p.m.)

Former Tiger Peter Callahan '13 competes in the 1500 for the second straight season for New Mexico as he exhausts his eligibity as a Lobo. Callahan is the top returner from last year's final, where he took fourth place. He has the sixth-best time this season at 3:40.37 and will face off against Chad Noelle (Oklahoma State) and Robby Creese (Penn State) who have the top two times nationally, 3:38.35 and 3:39.02. The semifinal is set for Wednesday at 4:14 p.m., with the final on Friday.

WEDNESDAY
Stephen Soerens	Decathlon	Final (5 events)	11:30 a.m.
Peter Callahan '13	1500	Semifinal	4:14 p.m.
Sam Pons	10k	Final	6:43 p.m.

THURSDAY
Stephen Soerens	Decathlon	Final (5 events)	10 a.m.
Julia Ratcliffe	Hammer Throw	Final	1:30 p.m.
Lizzie Bird	Steeplechase	Semifinal	4:38 p.m.
Cecilia Barowski	800	Semifinal	5:44 p.m.
Megan Curham	10k	Final	6:38 p.m.

FRIDAY
Peter Callahan '13	1500	Final *	4:45 p.m.

SATURDAY
Lizzie Bird	Steeplechase	Final *	2:27 p.m.
Cecilia Barowski	800	Final *	3:20 p.m.

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Cecilia Barowski

Lizzie Bird

Megan Curham

Julia Ratcliffe