EUGENE, Ore. - VMI's Donnie Cowart will continue his storybook season Thursday evening at the US National Track and Field Championships, to be held in Eugene, Ore., Thursday through Sunday. His first round race in the 3,000-meter steeplechase is set for 10:25 EST Thursday evening, while the event finals will be held Saturday evening at 8:40 p.m.
Fans can follow Cowart's efforts, and the meet as a whole, in a variety of ways. Thursday's events, as well as the events not being televised later in the meet, are scheduled to be webcast, due to a recently announced joint effort between the USATF and Flotrack.com. On Friday, while the VMI distance runner has a rest day, ESPN will broadcast a two-hour block of time, from 8-10 p.m. EST. The network will also from 7:30-9:30 Saturday evening, which could include the steeplechase finals, before NBC takes over broadcast duties Sunday, by broadcasting the event from 4-6 p.m.
However, television and web streaming are not the only media through which the meet can be followed, as live results will be posted on the USATF web site, and periodic updates will be available on the VMI Cross Country Twitter page, where in fact, several pictures have already been posted. All relevant links are available above this story.
This year's US Track and Field Championships will be held at Hayward Field, which was the site of the 1972, 1976, 1980 and 2008 Olympic Trials. Several 2008 Olympians are scheduled to compete, as the country's elite track and field athletes seek berths in their next potential step of competition, the IAAF World Championships. That event will be held in August at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. That facility was where, in 1936, Jesse Owens won four gold medals in one of the most notable track and field performances of all time, and 2009's World Championships will be the first international track and field event held at that venue since that time.
Cowart earned his berth in the US Championships with his 8:44.66 clocking at the NCAA Championships June 10. The preliminary round time was a new VMI record, shattering the previous mark, set in 1978, by some five seconds. The effort was also a personal best by more than six seconds, and was approximately one second off the Big South record, set just last season.
