Track & Field Viewing Guide: NCAAs, European Champs, & Lyles Opens Up in 200
This week is jam-packed with the European Championships, Adrian Martinez Classic, Portland Trackfest, & USATF NYC Grand Prix
By Harper Clark and Joseph CarrollBetween the professional meets slated for this weekend and NCAAs, this promises to be an exciting week of track & field. For your convenience, we have broken down where the biggest stars will be and how you can watch.
If you’re wondering why we aren’t previewing NCAAs, that’s because we’ve provided comprehensive previews and streaming information. You can find all of that below.
Men’s Preview / Women’s Preview / Streaming Information
Also, our NCAA prediction contest is up! You can join here.
Professional action starts Friday, June 7, with the European Championships, followed by NYRR Mini 10k, the Adrian Martinez Classic in Concord, Massachusetts, on Saturday as well as the Portland Trackfest (Saturday & Sunday), and concluding with the USATF NYC Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
|
Event |
Date/Time | Streaming | Live Results |
| European Championships | June 7th – 12th | Eurovision | Live Results |
| NYRR Mini 10k | Saturday, June 8th (7:45 A.M. ET) | ESPN + | Live Results |
| Portland Trackfest | June 8th – 9th | Tracklnd | Meet Website |
| Adrian Martinez Classic | Saturday, June 8th (6-8 p.m. ET) | Baystate Running | Meet Website |
| USATF NYC Grand Prix | Sunday, June 9th (1:30 p.m. ET) | Peacock/NBC | Live Results |
European Championships
When: Friday, June 7th – Wednesday, June 12th
Where: Rome, Italy
The European Championships are also this week from the 7th to the 12th. Some of Europe’s best have chosen to race here as a dry run for the Olympics and some have chosen to take this time to rest. Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen will look to complete the 1500/5000 double while countryman Karsten Warholm will be eyeing gold in the 400 hurdles. Brits Keely Hodgkinson and Neil Gourley will be looking to add some hardware in the 800 and 1500 and world champ Femke Bol will be running in the 400 hurdles. Mondo Duplantis will also be vaulting, There are lots of deep fields and there are more in-depth previews on the meet website here.
Adrian Martinez Classic
When: Saturday, June 8th (pro races 6-8 p.m. ET)
Where: Concord, Massachusetts
If you are in the Boston area, this is a really cool meet that is worth checking out. It always has solid fields, and this year’s meet is headlined by the New Balance Boston women. Both World Indoor champion Elle Purrier St. Pierre and indoor bronze medalist Emily Mackay are competing.
Portland Trackfest
When: Saturday, June 8th – Sunday, June 9th
Where: Portland, Oregon
Men’s 800: This men’s 800 at the Portland Trackfest promises to flaunt some star power between Nike’s Matthew Centrowitz and Cole Hocker as well as Isaiah Harris of Brooks Beasts. Joining those three on the start list are Henry Wynne, Sam Prakel, and Craig Engels. For the 1500 runners of the field, this will serve as an opportunity for them to dial in their speed ahead of the Trials. For Engels, this will serve as an opportunity for him to take a step forward toward making the 800-meter squad–one he believes he has a good chance of making.
Women’s 800: Fresh off a 4:00.64 pb at the Stockholm Diamond League, Dani Jones will move down in distance to take a crack at the sub-2:00 barrier. She’ll be joined by Nia Akins, Nikki Hiltz, and Sinclaire Johnson, all of whom are also entered in another event. Also entered is Olympic 5k/10k champion Sifan Hassan.
Men’s 1500: For the level of meet that this is, the 1500 is pretty stacked. I’ll knock on wood, but I’m pretty sure that world champion Josh Kerr will be the winner here. This will be a glorified workout for the British star, as he will be driving down three hours from his training base in Seattle. Some potential passengers accompanying him on his ride down will be U.S 800 runners Isaiah Harris and Brandon Miller, who are likely working on the strength that it will take to navigate the rounds at USAs. Also joining them will be Henry Wynne, a man who routinely finds himself in the 1500 final at USAs. SOVA runner Cooper Teare will also be on the start line, looking for an improvement on a Bowerman Mile where he tripped. NAU star Colin Sahlman is also on the start list and will potentially be called an NCAA champion by the time the gun goes off. Former U.S. indoor champion Josh Thompson will also be looking for a strong race that will give him momentum to make the final at USAs. Kenneth Rooks is also entered, but he is racing the steeple here, so this could be a workout or he could be helping with pacing.
Women’s 1500: On Saturday in Portland, we’ll see quite a mashup of US women competing in the 1500 meters, but the race will be headlined by star Sifan Hassan. 2023 US champ Nikki Hiltz is entered and will be offered a strong challenge by the likes of On’s Josette Andrews. Former Bowerman TC athlete and 3:56 woman, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford is entered as well.
Joining them is defending 800-meter US champion Nia Akins and Elly Henes of Adidas. Other notable names include Ceili McCabe, Emily Infield, and Ella Donaghu.
Men’s Steeple: Three weeks removed from an 8:15.04 pb in Los Angeles, Kenneth Rooks will return to the steeplechase in Portland. He is joined by newly minted steeplechaser Emmanuel Bor and Rojo’s hero, Daniel Michalksi. Other notable entries include Brian Barraza of Roots Running, Craig Nowak, and SOVA Running’s Aidan Tooker.
Men’s 5,000: Coming off a 13:08 PB at the LA Grand Prix, Drew Hunter will look to continue his positive momentum in the 12 ½ lap event against former US champion and Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo. Joining them on the start line is Ahmed Muhumed of HOKA NAZ Elite, Puma’s Isai Rodriguez, and Muhumed’s teammate Futsum Zienasellassie.
Joining the professional field is BYU commit Daniel Simmons–the United States HS record holder over 5,000 meters indoors. He will surely be looking to improve on his 13:38.87 personal best and make a run at Lex Young’s outdoor record of 13:34.96.
Though Chelimo hasn’t looked the same as the man we saw score silver and bronze in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, he’ll look to cement himself as a serious contender for both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter teams for the upcoming Olympic Trials.
Women’s 5,000: In this women’s 5000, we’ll be treated to a race of former Bowerman TC athletes. Headlining the field is defending US 5,000 and 10,000 champion Elise Cranny. She is joined by former Bowerman teammates Emily Infeld, Vanessa Fraser, and Sinclaire Johnson.
Cranny, who has struggled since leaving Bowerman last November, is currently without the 5,000 standard (#32 in world rankings) but will surely pursue that this weekend ahead of her quest to defend her US 5,000-meter title.
Joining the former Bowerman women on the start line is national HS record holder Elizabeth Leachman (15:25.27 PB), On’s Hannah Steelman, former NCAA steeplechase champion Courtney Wayment, and Rachel Smith of HOKA.
Women’s 10,000: Can Anyone Help the U.S?
The thing to note here is that world bronze medalist Emily Infeld will be trying to either get the standard or improve her world ranking (not currently ranked as she has not finished a 10k in the qualifying window), and Katie Izzo, who qualified via cross country, will test her fitness before the Trials.
USATF NYC Grand Prix
When: Sunday, June 9th
Where: New York City, NY
This will be a sprint-heavy meet. Main stars slated to compete include Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who will be running the open 400. Exactly how quick can she run? If she runs well enough, could we see her run the open 400 at the Trials? As one message board poster mentioned, she’s entered in the 400 there. World champion Noah Lyles is entered in his primary event, the 200, for the first time this year, fresh off a 9.85 for 100m in Jamaica. This will be a big test of where he is this year. In the women’s 200 it will be world silver medalist Gabby Thomas as the headliner. In the men’s 400 hurdles, we have U.S. star Rai Benjamin, who will look to have a response to Karsten Warholm and Alison dos Santos’s epic showdown last week. Additionally, there will be a strong women’s 100 hurdles race. The whole meet is previewed here as well.
NYRR Mini 10k
When: Sunday, June 9th
Where: New York City, NY
This weekend is the always competitive New York Road Runners mini 10k. The fields are heavy with marathon talent as Emily Sission and Dakota Lindwurm who will represent the U.S in Paris are both on the start list. They will be tested by some of the top international talent including sub 30 woman Sheila Chepkirui and New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi. A full preview of the race was also written here.
