PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams will travel to Jefferson City, Mo., to compete in the 2023 MIAA Outdoor Championships May 5-7 at Dwight T. Stadium on the campus of Lincoln University.
 
The three-day event begins with the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon events Friday afternoon, starting at 2 p.m. Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. with the continuation of the multi events. Field events begin at Noon. Championship Sunday events begin at 10:30 a.m. with MIAA champions crowned around 5:30 p.m.
 
Admission will be $10 per day for adults with multi-day passes available for $15. Children aged 3-17 and seniors will be able to purchase tickets for $5 per day. Children under the age of three will receive free admission.
 
The championships will be streamed live on the MIAA Network. Streaming cost for each day is $10, unless viewers purchase the monthly pass for $25. Live results also will be available via midwesttiming.com.

The Pitt State men enter the 2023 MIAA Outdoor Championships ranked No. 1 in the most recent USTFCCCA/NCAA Division II National Track & Field Ratings Index (TFRI). The Gorillas captured the 2023 MIAA Indoor Championships title and Pitt State is the reigning MIAA Outdoor Champion as well as the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Champion from the 2022 season.

The Pitt State men enter Saturday's action ranked No. 1 in the most recent USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National Track & Field Ratings Index (TFRI), while the Pitt State women climbed three sports to No. 6 nationally.
 
Five other MIAA men's squads are ranked in the top 25:  Missouri Southern (No. 9), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 15), Central Missouri (No. 16), Northwest Missouri (No. 20) and Lincoln (No. 24).

The Gorillas are ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in 11 different disciplines entering the competition. Pre-meet favorites are Xavier Carmichael in the 100m (10.16), Matthew Oglesby in the 10,000m (29:37.17), Cordell Tinch in the 110m hurdles (13.22) and high jump (7-0.5), the 4x100m Relay (39.76), the 4x400m Relay (3:09.68), L.J. Kiner in the long jump (25-3.25) and the triple jump (53-10.25), Caleb Calvin in the javelin (239-7) and Hunter Jones in the decathlon (7,277 points).

The Pitt State women are one of seven MIAA squads ranked among the Division II top 25. The Gorillas, who claimed the 2022 MIAA Outdoor Championships, enter the meet sixth nationally. NWMSU (No. 9), MSSU (No. 11), Fort Hays State (No. 13), LU (No. 16), UCM (No. 17) and Washburn (No. 24) also sit in this week's national rankings list.
 
Taniya Looney is ranked No. 1 in the 100m (11.34) and the 200m (23.83), while Auna Childress is the pre-meet favorite in the triple jump (44-2.5). The Gorillas are ranked No. 2 in five additional disciplines.
 
This will be 96th all-time MIAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships dating back to 1924. Central Missouri holds the lead among current conference members for MIAA outdoor titles with 22, while Pitt State is second with 14. The Gorillas are the two-time defending MIAA Outdoor Champions.
 
This will mark the 41st all-time MIAA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Pitt State has claimed a conference-leading 13 MIAA outdoor titles since the meet's inception in 1982 and finished as the league runner-up eight times. The host school, Lincoln, has claimed four titles, most recently in 2014. UCM has finished as the conference runner-up 13 times and claimed three outdoor crowns. Pitt State is the defending champion women's squad.
 
The meet will serve as one of the final regular season meets of the 2023 outdoor season.  Qualifiers for the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships – scheduled for May 26-28 at Pueblo, Colo. – will be announced later this month.