After a regular season filled with record-breaking performances, the best collegiate athletes in the country will face off at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Starting on Wednesday, June 5, the meet will span four days with heated rivalries and match-ups at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
With defending NCAA indoor champions Nico Young and Parker Valby leading the distance events, and several athletes inching closer to collegiate records, there’s plenty to get excited about this weekend.
The men’s competition will take place on Wednesday, June 5 and Friday, June 7. The women will compete in the preliminaries on Thursday, June 6 and in the finals on Saturday, June 8.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s meet.
How to watch the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
On Wednesday, June 5, the men’s track competition will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+ starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. The first day of the women’s competition will be shown live on ESPN2 and ESPN+ on Thursday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The men’s finals will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+ on Friday, June 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET, and the women’s finals will air on Saturday, June 8 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.
Field events will have separate feeds on ESPN+ each day.
Meet preview
Day 1 will feature the men’s 10,000 meters, the first final on the track. Habtom Samuel of New Mexico stands above the rest after clocking 26:53:84 at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano, California—the second-fastest 10,000-meter time in NCAA history. Outside of collegiate record-holder Nico Young, who opted to run the 5,000 meters at the championships, Samuel holds the fastest time among the field by a minute.
Day 2 includes the women’s 10,000-meter final, the first race of a tough 5,000/10,000-meter double for Florida’s Parker Valby. In April, the senior broke the collegiate record in the event while running her first 10,000 ever at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Winning the race by two minutes, Valby finished in 30:50.43, breaking the previous record by 28 seconds. She is now No. 11 on the U.S. all-time list. In December, Valby also broke the indoor 5,000-meter record, running 14:56.11, seven seconds faster than the outdoor collegiate record set by Katelyn Tuohy in 2023. In her last collegiate championship, Valby will go in as the heavy favorite in both events.
On Friday, the men’s finals and team championship headline the meet. A must-see race will be the men’s 5,000 meters, where Young will be contesting the distance after winning the 3,000/5,000-meter double at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. The Northern Arizona University senior broke the collegiate record indoors when he ran 12:57.14 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston. While his personal best is much faster than the rest of the field, he could face stiff competition from reigning NCAA 5,000-meter champion Ky Robinson of Stanford and NCAA cross-country champion Graham Blanks of Harvard.
The men’s team race is projected to be a fierce showdown between SEC rivals No. 1-ranked Arkansas, No. 2 Alabama, and No. 3 Florida. With a blazing 4x400-meter relay, Wayne Pinnock in the long jump, and Romaine Beckford in the high jump, the Razorbacks have a shot to win the program’s first NCAA outdoor title since 2003.
Rose won last year’s 800 final in a time of 1:59.83.
On Saturday, the women’s champions will be crowned. A top race to watch will be the 800 meters, where LSU’s Michaela Rose is looking to defend her crown. The middle-distance star stunned the field in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational, where she ran 1:58.37, the second-fastest time in NCAA history behind Athing Mu’s collegiate record. This weekend, she’ll have to battle against the several other competitors who have broken the 2:00 barrier this year, including Gladys Chepngetich of Clemson and Sanu Jallow of Arkansas. While they have yet to break two minutes this year, the Stanford duo of Juliette Whittaker (the NCAA indoor champion) and Roisin Willis (the Pac-12 champion) should also put up a good fight.
The women’s team race is led by No. 1 Arkansas. After a sudden shift in the rankings, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Texas are now looking to dethrone the 2024 NCAA indoor champions. But the Razorbacks’ three national leaders—400-meter star Nickisha Pryce, 400-meter hurdler Rachel Glenn, and the 4x400-meter relay—among a total of 18 entries will be tough to beat.
Taylor Dutch
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
