Eugene, Oregon – A group of 13 Texas A&M athletes along with four Aggie volunteer assistant coaches will be competing at the USA Outdoor Senior and Junior Championships, which are being held at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus this weekend.

Action begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday. Coverage of all four days is available via the web at Flotrack.com. On TV, EPSN will air two hours live on June 26 (7 p.m. to 9 p.m. CT) and June 27 (6:30 to 8:30 p.m. CT). Sunday’s action will air for two hours on NBC from 3 to 5 p.m. CT.

Competing in the Senior meet for the Aggies are Jessica Beard (400), Chris Dykes (200), Porscha Lucas (200), Gabby Mayo (100 hurdles), Bryan Miller (400), Justin Oliver (400), Zuheir Sharif (triple jump), and Jeneba Tarmoh (100, 200). A&M volunteer assistants in the meet include Muna Lee (100, 200), Aries Merritt (110 hurdles), Wallace Spearmon (200) and Kelly Willie (200).

Involved in the Junior Championships are three current Aggies – Dominique Duncan (200), Michael Preble (400) and Kevin Burnett (5,000) – as well as incoming frosh Wayne Davis (110 hurdles) and Sam Humphreys (javelin).

The USA Championships will serve as the selection meet for the United States team that competes at the World Championships later this summer in Berlin, Germany. Meanwhile, the Junior Championships will serve as the selection meet for Team USA competing in the Pan American Juniors, which will be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago from July 31 to August 2.

In the Senior meet the top three finishers in an event, who possess the World Championship qualifying standard, will qualify for the United States team. During the Junior meet the top two finishers qualify for Pan Am Juniors.

Lucas enters the 200 meters in Eugene with the second fastest time in the world this season, based off her 22.38 collegiate leading mark set in the NCAA semifinals. Lucas went on to claim her first individual NCAA title by winning the 200 final in 22.81.

“It’s a new meet and I’ll take it like I do every meet,” Lucas said. “I’m excited to run again after the NCAA Championships. It will be cool to be introduced as a NCAA champion. I’m happy to be able to represent Texas A&M again.

“I’m familiar with the venue after running in the Olympic Trials last year, so I know how to run my event there and hopefully can do well enough to lower my seasonal best or maybe set a PR.”

Since the qualifying window for marks to enter the USA Championships includes last summer as well, Lucas is the No. 6 seed based on times. Allyson Felix is the top entry with a 21.93 clocking , followed by Muna Lee’s 22.01.

Beard and Sharif are seeded third in their respective events. Beard has surpassed the World Championship A standard for the 400 while Sharif is still just shy of the B standard in the triple jump.

With a 50.56 school record for NCAA silver in the 400, Beard currently ranks fourth in the 2009 world list behind a trio of Americans in Sanya Richards (49.57), NCAA champion Joanna Atkins of Auburn (50.39) and Felix (50.50).

Sharif, who will contest the first final among the A&M competitors, enters the U.S. national meet with a personal best of 54-4 (16.56) which earned him fourth place at the NCAA Championships. He is seeded behind Kenta Bell (56-6.5) and Brandon Roulhac (56-2.75).

During the NCAA Championships Sharif was part of the Aggie triple jump foursome that produced 18 points in the final to vault Texas A&M into contention for the team victory prior to the concluding 4 x 400 relay.

The men’s 400 will feature a pair of Aggies in Oliver and Miller, who were both part of the A&M 4 x 400 relay that finished second and earned the needed points for a team title over a three-way tie for second that included Oregon, Florida and Florida State.

“It’s another chance for us to get on the track, have fun and run,” Oliver said. “The stakes are so much higher, though, with an opportunity to make the World team and represent the USA. I’m just looking forward to having a chance at making this team.

“When you step on that track you can kind of feel the history, especially with Prefontaine having run here as well as others on that level. It’s one of the best places to run, the crowds are always good.”

Making her debut in an Aggie uniform will be Tarmoh, who had to sit out of team competition this past school year following her transfer from Tennessee. Tarmoh earned a pair of gold medals during the World Junior Championships last summer in Poland as she won the 100 title in 11.37 and ran the first leg of the winning U.S. 4 x 100 relay (43.66).

“The thing I’m looking forward to the most is being part of a team again,” Tarmoh said. “This whole year I was unattached, so now I can finally say I’m warming up with my team, as a Texas A&M athlete. That is something I’m really looking forward to.

“It’s a very good feeling in having this year finished. Although I didn’t compete for Texas A&M I still consider it a blessing in disguise, because I was able to get a whole lot done mentally and physically, on and off the track.”

This season, running unattached, Tarmoh has produced a best of 11.31 in the 100 and 23.16 in the 200, both set during the Texas Invitational in Austin during the early part of May.

“Junior and Senior nationals are really, really different,” Tarmoh noted. “I’m mainly looking to improve my times and get faster. Since this is my first year competing on the senior level, I’m just trying to get experience and get my feet wet a little.”

Duncan, who ran the third leg of the women’s 4 x 100 relay that set a collegiate record of 42.36 during the NCAA Championships, will be one of the top seeds in the Junior 200 meters. Duncan has a season best of 23.36, which was set in the prelims of the Midwest Region, and ranks third behind Oregon’s Amber Purvis (23.09) and Georgia prep Chalonda Goodman (23.30).

The top seed in the 110 hurdles (39 inch height) is future Aggie Davis, who has a best of 13.33 seconds in the event. Trailing Davis are Cameron LaCour of Dayton, Texas (13.48) as well as a pair of collegians in South Carolina’s Booker Nunley (13.49) and Florida’s William Wynne (13.64), who produced their times over the 42-inch collegiate hurdles.

Davis recently claimed the Nike Outdoor Nationals title in the 110 hurdles with a 13.37 clocking. He posted a 13.33 in the prelims, which is No. 5 on the all-time high school list. Davis just missed the 10-year-old meet record of 13.32.

Among the Texas A&M volunteer assistants, Lee enters the 100 as the Olympic Trials champion from last summer. She set a personal best of 10.85 in winning at Hayward Field last summer and has recorded a windy 10.88 this season.

Spearmon is seeded fourth in the 200 based on his 19.90 from last season for third in the Olympic Trials. This season Spearmon has recorded a time of 19.98, which was runner-up to Tyson Gay’s world-leading mark of 19.58 during a meet in New York.

USATF NATIONAL CHAMPSIONSHIPS

Hayward Field, University of Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

On TV:
ESPN, June 26, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. CT
ESPN, June 27, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. CT
NBC, June 28, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. CT

On WEB: www.flotrack.com

Coverage begins Thursday with full-day webcasts of all events with a focus on the early rounds of the 400m, 800m, 1,500m and open men's and women's 10,000m finals.

TEXAS A&M ENTRIES

Athletes Events Competition Schedule (PST)

Jeneba Tarmoh 100 Thursday, 4:25 p.m.; Friday, 4 p.m. & 6:40 p.m.

200 Saturday 4:50 p.m.; Sunday 12:24 p.m. & 2:52 p.m.

Porscha Lucas 200 Saturday 4:50 p.m.; Sunday 12:24 p.m. & 2:52 p.m.

Jessica Beard 400 Thursday, 5:55 p.m.; Friday, 5:05 p.m. Saturday, 5:54 p.m.

Gabby Mayo 100 Hurdles Saturday, 3:50 p.m.; Sunday, Noon & 2:22 p.m.

Chris Dykes 200 Saturday 4:25 p.m.; Sunday 12:12 p.m. & 2:43 p.m.

Justin Oliver 400 Thursday, 6:20 p.m.; Friday, 5:20 p.m.; Saturday, 6:02 p.m.

Bryan Miller 400 Thursday, 6:20 p.m., Friday, 5:20 p.m.; Saturday, 6:02 p.m.

Zuheir Sharif Triple Jump Thursday, 5:15 p.m.

U.S. Junior Championships

Dominique Duncan 200 Saturday, 11:20 a.m. & 3:20 p.m.

Michael Preble 400 Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1:35 p.m.

Kevin Burnett 5,000 Sunday 4:50 p.m.

Texas A&M Volunteer Assistants

Muna Lee 100 Thursday, 4:25 p.m.; Friday 4 p.m. & 6:40 p.m.

200 Saturday 4:50 p.m.; Sunday 12:24 p.m. & 2:52 p.m.

Aries Merritt 110 Hurdles Friday, 3:20 p.m.; Saturday 3:40 p.m. & 6:23 p.m.

Wallace Spearmon 200 Saturday 4:25 p.m.; Sunday 12:12 p.m. & 2:43 p.m.

Kelly Willie 200 Saturday 4:25 p.m.; Sunday 12:12 p.m. & 2:43 p.m.

Aggie Incoming Frosh – U.S. Junior Championships

Wayne Davis 110 Hurdles Friday, 3 p.m. & 7:10 p.m.

Sam Humphreys Javelin Sunday, 3:10 p.m.