Ohio Wesleyan to Host NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 22-24
For the second time in four years, Ohio Wesleyan University will host the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s outdoor track & field championships. The national meet will be held May 22-24 at Ohio Wesleyan’s Selby Stadium and George Gauthier Track. (Photo by Flying Fotos, LLC)
DELAWARE, Ohio – Delaware and central Ohio residents are invited to run, dash, jump, and hurdle themselves over to Ohio Wesleyan University to attend the 2014 NCAA Division III men’s and women’s outdoor track & field championships.
Hundreds of the nation’s most accomplished track & field athletes will compete during the three-day meet at Ohio Wesleyan’s Selby Stadium and George Gauthier Track, 45 S. Henry St., Delaware.
Each day promises a festive, family environment with a kids’ zone where little ones can participate in their own track & field championships, and food and beverages available from the stadium’s Bishop Grille.
Admission will be$8 per day for adults or $20 for a three-day wristband, and $5 per day for students and senior citizens or $12 for a three-day wristband. Children ages 4 and under will be admitted free. Ticket sales will begin each day at 10:30 a.m. with competition scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. May 22, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 23, and from noon to 6 p.m. May 24.
Several downtown Delaware restaurants will stay open late during the event, with some offering discounts to those wearing paid NCAA admission wristbands. Main Street Delaware also is coordinating a “Fourth Friday” community celebration May 23 to help commemorate the championships.
The meet will include the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run, 1500-meter run, 5000-meter run, 10,000-meter run, 3000-meter steeplechase, 100-meter hurdles, 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, javelin, shot put, discus, hammer, heptathlon, and decathlon. Relay events will include the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays.
This year marks the second time since 2011 that Ohio Wesleyan has been selected to host the competition, making OWU and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh the only two schools to host the championships more than once in the past 10 years.
“It’s an honor to be selected by the NCAA to host this national event,” said Kris Boey, Ohio Wesleyan’s director of track & field and cross country and head track & field coach. “We are proud to serve as the host of the outdoor track & field championships for the second time in four years. It’s an excellent way to showcase all the outstanding attributes of the Ohio Wesleyan campus and the City of Delaware.”
Much of the competition will be held inside Selby Stadium, one of 11 sites on the Ohio Wesleyan campus featured on the National Register of Historic Places. The stadium, home of the Battling Bishops since 1929, is believed to be the oldest facility in the nation constructed to Olympic specifications and remaining in its original configuration. It seats 9,100 people and was the site of 19 of the first 26 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) outdoor track & field championships.
Learn more about the NCAA championships, including volunteer opportunities and competition times, at www.owu.edu/ncaa.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.