6/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
2015 USATF Outdoor Championships: Schedule | Live Results
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV track & field program will be well represented in Eugene, Ore., this week at the 2015 USA Track & Field's Outdoor Championships and Junior Outdoor Championships. Rebel alumnae Amanda Bingson and Lekeisha Lawson as well as current student-athletes Drea Austin, MacKenna Howard and Taylor Pegram will compete at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. The four-day meet begins Thursday (June 25) and runs through Sunday (June 28).
Bingson (2009-12), the two-time defending USATF Outdoor champion, has made a name for herself on the international track & field scene following a stint as a three-time Mountain West champion in the hammer throw (2010-12). Just one month after she completed her collegiate career, the Las Vegas native finished second overall in the hammer at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and in turn the chance to represent the United States at the London Olympics.
In 2013, Bingson won the first of her two national championships at the event in Des Moines, Iowa. Helping her to that first title was a pair of hammer throws that -- in succession -- broke the American record in the event. She initially placed her name atop the record book with a measurement of 245-9 (74.92m) until she one-upped herself one throw later with a distance of 248-5 (74.92m), which also was a Drake Stadium record. She followed that record-setting victory with a 10th-place finish at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.
The 2008 Silverado High School graduate successfully defended her title at the 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. She broke the Hornet Stadium record on her first try with a throw of 244-1 (74.41m). That mark didn't last long as she surpassed it by two feet on her next attempt that traveled 246-3 (75.05m). Three months later, she notched a second-place showing at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco.
She will compete Saturday at 12:15 pm.
Lawson (2006-09) will run in both the 100m (Thursday: 5:35 pm) and 200m (Saturday: 12:30 pm) this week. At the 2014 nationals, she finished third in a time of 11.30, which came after a personal-best effort of 11.07 in the semis. Earlier this year, she won both the 100m and 200m at the Bulldog Invitational (April 25) -- a meet that the UNLV track & field team attended. She ran a personal-bet time of 22.99 in the 200m.
The three aforementioned current Rebels will compete in the Junior Outdoor Championships after successful freshmen campaigns in 2015.
Austin is entered in both the 100m (Friday: 11:00 am) and 200m (Saturday: 3:41 pm). The Foothill High School graduate and Las Vegas native most recently ran at the NCAA West Preliminary in Austin last month. She set personal bests in the 100m (11.63) and 200m (23.71) at the MW Outdoor Championships in May. She earned All-MW recognition after she ran a leg of UNLV's second-place 4x100m relay. In addition to that finish, she helped the 4x400m relay to fourth place as well as fourth- and fifth-place showings in the 100m and 200m, respectively.
Howard will compete in the shot put (Friday: 2:45 pm). She was fourth at the MW Outdoor Championships, and earlier in the season notched the program's second-best performance mark (51-6.5/15.71m) in the shot put at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Pegram will have a go in Friday's 100m hurdles (11:40 am). She was seventh overall at the MW Outdoor Championships, and owns a personal-best time of 13.67 that was achieved at the adidas/Steve Scott Invitational in May.
"It is always a great opportunity to have our student-athletes compete along side some of the best athletes in the world," said UNLV head coach Yvonne Wade. "In order for them to become stronger competitors they need the experience of being on a big stage."
