Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams are preparing for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled from June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The event will feature 16 athletes from Illinois competing across 12 events, marking the largest representation since 2008 when the program sent 17 athletes.

The men's team has six individual qualifiers, the highest number in 36 years. Notable participants include Tyler Sudduth, who is the first Illini man to qualify in shot put this century. Viktor Morozov qualified for triple jump, a feat last achieved by Nick Brown in 2007. Cody Johnston is set to compete in pole vaulting after a gap of 15 years since Andrew Zollner's qualification.

On the women's side, ten athletes have qualified, the most since 2009. Amber Simpson stands out as she is participating in hammer throw, an event Illinois hasn't been represented in at nationals for over two decades. Darja Sopova qualified for triple jump for the first time since Yvonne Mensah did so in 2007.

Jessica McDowell will run in the 400m race, becoming the first woman to qualify since Ashley Spencer's Olympic performance in 2013. Bara Sajdokova and Rose Yeboah are competing in high jump after Kandie Block-Jones' participation in 2016. The women's relay team will also participate for the first time since that year.

The competition schedule begins on Wednesday with Aiden Ouimet competing across multiple decathlon events and concludes on Saturday with several key finals if Illinois athletes advance past semifinals.

Amber Simpson holds a #2 national ranking in hammer throw with a distance of 70.21 meters while Sophia Beckmon ranks #2 nationally in long jump with a leap of 6.86 meters.