Little Rock Set for NCAA Outdoor Championships

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EUGENE, Ore. – Back at historic Hayward Field for the first time since 2005, Little Rock's men's outdoor track team is set to compete at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning on Wednesday on the campus of the University of Oregon. The meet will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
 
The Trojans' 4x100-meter relay team of Keshawn Andrews, Ch'kilas Calhoun, Travion Clark and Charles Okeze will compete in the first heat of the semifinals at 6:32 p.m. (CT). Little Rock stunned the entire NCAA West Region after posting the fastest time at the NCAA West Preliminary with a school record of 39.35 seconds on May 26 in Sacramento after coming into the meet with the 104th-fastest overall time. This qualified Little Rock for its first-ever relay race at the NCAA Championships.
 
Little Rock's competition in the first heat will consist of Sam Houston State, Stanford, TCU, Florida State, North Carolina A&T, Kentucky and Penn State. Of those schools, the Trojans have the third-fastest seed time behind Florida State (39.12) and North Carolina A&T (39.21). Of the 24 teams that qualified for the semifinals, Little Rock has the eighth-fastest seed time. The top two schools from each of the three heats and the next two fastest times will advance to the finals on Friday at 7:32 p.m. (CT).
 
Two hours after running in the 4x100-meter relay semifinals, Charles Okeze will represent the Trojans in the third heat of the 200-meter dash semifinals at 8:44 p.m. (CT). Okeze qualified with a time of 20.77 seconds at the NCAA West Preliminary Quarterfinals on May 26 and became the first individual Trojan to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships since Chris Johnson in 2005. Okeze is just the second Trojan to ever qualify for the 200-meter championship as Leo Settle first did it in 1997.
 
Okeze will be going up against some stiff competition as he comes in with the seventh-fastest seed time in his heat and 21st-fastest time overall. Like the relay, the top two individuals from each of the three heats and the next two fastest times will advance to the finals on Friday at 9:07 p.m. (CT).
 
This is the first time in program history that Little Rock has sent both a relay team and an individual to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.