Temple University Athletics
Friday, February 28
Birmingham, Ala.
Temple University
vs
AAC Indoor Championships
Track and Field Strives for Greatness at 2020 Indoor Championships
2.27.20 | Women's Track and Field
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple Track and Field team is primed and ready to put its training to the test at the 2020 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. For the fifth-straight season, the championship meet will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. and will run from Friday, Feb. 28 through Saturday, Feb. 29.
About the AAC Indoor Championships
> The championship meet is set to begin Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. with the pentathlon 60m hurdles. Action will conclude on Saturday afternoon with the 4x400m relay scheduled for 2:50 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 3:20 p.m.
> All 12 of the American's women's track and field teams will be represented at the conference meet, featuring student-athletes from Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, USF, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF and Wichita State.
> Live coverage of the meet will be on the American Digital Network via Facebook Live, which can be accessed through this link. The live coverage will begin at 10:00 a.m. each day.
The Breakdown (note: all times written in central time)
> Temple will first be represented at 12:25 p.m. on Friday afternoon in the mile prelims. Millie Howard is on the hunt for her second conference title in the event after previously taking the crown in 2018. Her time of 4:36.37 is the fastest mile in conference history, ranks 17th in the nation, is a Temple program record and is nearly 10 seconds faster that the AAC meet record that she set in 2018 (4:46.21). Helene Gottlieb also looks to shine in the mile after a podium finish last season and a fourth-place finish in 2018. The 2019 All-AAC runner enters the meet seeded fifth in the event with a time of 4:51.19. Both Howard and Gottlieb will race in the second heat of the prelims and finals are slated for 11:20 a.m. Saturday.
> Following the mile, Marissa White and Mallorie Smith will compete in the 400m dash. White will look for her first-ever podium finish after earning fourth during her rookie conference meet last season. She was phenomenal in the event a year ago when she entered the meet seeded ninth, advanced to the finals with an eighth place finish in trials and left the meet scoring five points for the Owls, missing the podium by just one spot. White will race in heat eight and Smith will compete in heat six, with finals for the 400m dash scheduled for Saturday at 11:40 a.m.
> Sydney Williams will represent the Cherry and White in the 60m hurdle prelims at 1:35 p.m. The junior looks to build off of her regular-season momentum after running her fastest-ever time of 8.81 at the Fast Track Season opener earlier this year. Following the hurdles, she will return at 1:55 p.m. for the 60m dash and will be joined by Brielle Lewis and Candus Burks. Burks will then represent the Owls as the lone Friday jumper, competing in the long jump at 2:00 p.m. Finals for the hurdles and the 60m dash are slated for Saturday at 12:10 and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
> With a Cherry and White trio holding the top-three spots on the conference's performance list, Temple will look forward to the 800m dash at 2:30 on Friday afternoon. Alanna Lally will compete in her first-ever AAC Championship meet and is looking to take the crown as the league's top-seed. Her time of 2:06.35 at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational shattered Temple's program record and she looks to continue this success this weekend. Second-seeded Gottlieb looks to return to the podium after an all-conference finish in the event last season. The junior ranks second overall after running an indoor PR of 2:07.98 at the Valentine Invite and is set to get the trio started in the first heat of prelims. Finally, Howard will return to compete in the 800m as she looks to advance to finals for the second-straight season, entering the meet seeded third with a time of 2:08.41. Finals for the 800m are slated for Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
> Temple will return in the sprints for the 200m dash trials at 3:00 p.m. Lewis and Smith will each make their second appearances of the day, with Lewis competing in the first heat followed by Smith in heat two. The duo is competing to advance into finals of the event, which will be raced at 1:20 Saturday afternoon.
> At 4:15 p.m., Michelle Joyce and Grace Moore will look to leave their mark in the 5000m finals. Joyce looks to continue to shine after shattering the school record in the event just two weeks ago. Her time of 16:49.56 is the sixth-fastest in the conference this season. Moore will race the 5K for the first time officially on an indoor track after missing the majority of last season due to injury. The event will be the first finals of the day and the Temple duo will compete in the seeded section.
> Friday's action will conclude with an exciting 4000m distance medley relay at 5:00 p.m. The top-seeded Owls will look to take the crown in the event after a phenomenal showing last weekend at the JDL DMR Invitational. The quartet of Gottlieb (1200m, 3:25.03), Smith (400m, 56.44), Lally (800m, 2:08.78) and Howard (mile, 4:44.63) shattered the program record in the event by over eight seconds, clocking in at 11:14.87 (11:07.72 after NCAA qualifying conversion) to run the 13th-fastest time in the nation. The time is not only the fastest in Temple history by a vast margin, but also the fastest time in the American by over 29 seconds this season and the fastest time ever run by a team in the AAC on an indoor track in conference history.
> Saturday's action will feature all finals from day one as well as the high and triple jump, the 3000m run and the 4x400m relays.
> Junior Aisha Brown will get the Owls started on Saturday in the high jump at 9:45 a.m. As a freshman, Brown finished sixth with a mark of 1.70m at the indoor meet and earned All-AAC honors at the outdoor championships with a PR of 1.82m. Last year, she was fifth at the indoor meet while battling an injury and went on to finish second at the outdoor championships in the event. This season, she's on the hunt for her first gold medal as she enters the meet seeded third with a mark of 1.75m, trailing a pair of jumpers by just one centimeter. Following the high jump, Burks will hit the runway to compete in the triple jump at 11:00 a.m. to conclude Temple's weekend in the field.
> Three Owls will race in the final individual event of the indoor season with Howard, Joyce and Moore each returning to the track to compete in the 3000m run. Moore enters the meet seeded fourth in the AAC after clocking in at 9:32.47 at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. Howard and Joyce also will look to score points for the Cherry and White as they round out individual competition for the day.
> The 2020 Indoor Championships will conclude with a running of the 4x400m relay at 2:40 p.m. Temple will look to best its fastest time of the season of 3:51.47 from the Fast Track Season Opener.
About the AAC Indoor Championships
> The championship meet is set to begin Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. with the pentathlon 60m hurdles. Action will conclude on Saturday afternoon with the 4x400m relay scheduled for 2:50 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 3:20 p.m.
> All 12 of the American's women's track and field teams will be represented at the conference meet, featuring student-athletes from Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, USF, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF and Wichita State.
> Live coverage of the meet will be on the American Digital Network via Facebook Live, which can be accessed through this link. The live coverage will begin at 10:00 a.m. each day.
The Breakdown (note: all times written in central time)
> Temple will first be represented at 12:25 p.m. on Friday afternoon in the mile prelims. Millie Howard is on the hunt for her second conference title in the event after previously taking the crown in 2018. Her time of 4:36.37 is the fastest mile in conference history, ranks 17th in the nation, is a Temple program record and is nearly 10 seconds faster that the AAC meet record that she set in 2018 (4:46.21). Helene Gottlieb also looks to shine in the mile after a podium finish last season and a fourth-place finish in 2018. The 2019 All-AAC runner enters the meet seeded fifth in the event with a time of 4:51.19. Both Howard and Gottlieb will race in the second heat of the prelims and finals are slated for 11:20 a.m. Saturday.
> Following the mile, Marissa White and Mallorie Smith will compete in the 400m dash. White will look for her first-ever podium finish after earning fourth during her rookie conference meet last season. She was phenomenal in the event a year ago when she entered the meet seeded ninth, advanced to the finals with an eighth place finish in trials and left the meet scoring five points for the Owls, missing the podium by just one spot. White will race in heat eight and Smith will compete in heat six, with finals for the 400m dash scheduled for Saturday at 11:40 a.m.
> Sydney Williams will represent the Cherry and White in the 60m hurdle prelims at 1:35 p.m. The junior looks to build off of her regular-season momentum after running her fastest-ever time of 8.81 at the Fast Track Season opener earlier this year. Following the hurdles, she will return at 1:55 p.m. for the 60m dash and will be joined by Brielle Lewis and Candus Burks. Burks will then represent the Owls as the lone Friday jumper, competing in the long jump at 2:00 p.m. Finals for the hurdles and the 60m dash are slated for Saturday at 12:10 and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
> With a Cherry and White trio holding the top-three spots on the conference's performance list, Temple will look forward to the 800m dash at 2:30 on Friday afternoon. Alanna Lally will compete in her first-ever AAC Championship meet and is looking to take the crown as the league's top-seed. Her time of 2:06.35 at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational shattered Temple's program record and she looks to continue this success this weekend. Second-seeded Gottlieb looks to return to the podium after an all-conference finish in the event last season. The junior ranks second overall after running an indoor PR of 2:07.98 at the Valentine Invite and is set to get the trio started in the first heat of prelims. Finally, Howard will return to compete in the 800m as she looks to advance to finals for the second-straight season, entering the meet seeded third with a time of 2:08.41. Finals for the 800m are slated for Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
> Temple will return in the sprints for the 200m dash trials at 3:00 p.m. Lewis and Smith will each make their second appearances of the day, with Lewis competing in the first heat followed by Smith in heat two. The duo is competing to advance into finals of the event, which will be raced at 1:20 Saturday afternoon.
> At 4:15 p.m., Michelle Joyce and Grace Moore will look to leave their mark in the 5000m finals. Joyce looks to continue to shine after shattering the school record in the event just two weeks ago. Her time of 16:49.56 is the sixth-fastest in the conference this season. Moore will race the 5K for the first time officially on an indoor track after missing the majority of last season due to injury. The event will be the first finals of the day and the Temple duo will compete in the seeded section.
> Friday's action will conclude with an exciting 4000m distance medley relay at 5:00 p.m. The top-seeded Owls will look to take the crown in the event after a phenomenal showing last weekend at the JDL DMR Invitational. The quartet of Gottlieb (1200m, 3:25.03), Smith (400m, 56.44), Lally (800m, 2:08.78) and Howard (mile, 4:44.63) shattered the program record in the event by over eight seconds, clocking in at 11:14.87 (11:07.72 after NCAA qualifying conversion) to run the 13th-fastest time in the nation. The time is not only the fastest in Temple history by a vast margin, but also the fastest time in the American by over 29 seconds this season and the fastest time ever run by a team in the AAC on an indoor track in conference history.
> Saturday's action will feature all finals from day one as well as the high and triple jump, the 3000m run and the 4x400m relays.
> Junior Aisha Brown will get the Owls started on Saturday in the high jump at 9:45 a.m. As a freshman, Brown finished sixth with a mark of 1.70m at the indoor meet and earned All-AAC honors at the outdoor championships with a PR of 1.82m. Last year, she was fifth at the indoor meet while battling an injury and went on to finish second at the outdoor championships in the event. This season, she's on the hunt for her first gold medal as she enters the meet seeded third with a mark of 1.75m, trailing a pair of jumpers by just one centimeter. Following the high jump, Burks will hit the runway to compete in the triple jump at 11:00 a.m. to conclude Temple's weekend in the field.
> Three Owls will race in the final individual event of the indoor season with Howard, Joyce and Moore each returning to the track to compete in the 3000m run. Moore enters the meet seeded fourth in the AAC after clocking in at 9:32.47 at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. Howard and Joyce also will look to score points for the Cherry and White as they round out individual competition for the day.
> The 2020 Indoor Championships will conclude with a running of the 4x400m relay at 2:40 p.m. Temple will look to best its fastest time of the season of 3:51.47 from the Fast Track Season Opener.
Players Mentioned
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
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Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
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