NCAA Championships Info
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Illinois State's Derrius Rodgers heads to College Station, Texas, to compete in 60-meter dash at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 10-11, at Texas A&M University in the Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
The preliminary round of the 60-meter is slated to begin on Friday, March 10 at 6:10 p.m. The final round will follow on Saturday at 4:20 p.m. ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 10 starting at 6:25 p.m. ET and March 11 starting at 4:55 p.m. ET. A re-air of the championship will take place on Sunday, March 12 starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The true freshman from Lockport, Illinois, is the first 60-meter runner of the Illinois State track and field teams to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in school history. The last time a Redbird qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships was during the 2013-14 season, when Curt Jensen qualified in the men's shot put.
"Derrius (Rodgers) has worked hard to get this opportunity to race the best in the NCAA," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "We are very proud of him and look forward to a great weekend of action from this precocious freshman. Coach Emanuel has done a wonderful job mentoring this young man and it will be fun to see him compete on this stage."
This season, Rodgers crushed a 21 year old school record in the 60-meters with a time at 6.64, which he ran at the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the MVC championships, Rodgers received all-MVC accolades in the 60-and 200-meter dash. He also ran a leg on the Valley Champion 4x400-meter relay. Rodgers tallied a total of 18.5 points at the championships, and was the first recipient of the MVC Male Freshman of the Year Award.
This season alone, Rodgers has earned a Valley Athlete of the Week honors and eight top-three finishes, including four first-place finishes. He comes into this weekend's competition ranked 13th in the nation and is looking to earn All-American honors for the first time in his career.
"I'm very proud of what Derrius (Rodgers) has been able to accomplish this early in his career," assistant coach Brenton Emanuel said. "To be a NCAA qualifier is not an easy task, especially indoors where it is only the top-16 in the country that qualify. Not very many people can say they have done that, especially as a true freshman. He has worked very hard and continues to get better each and every day."
Fans wanting to follow Rodgers can do so at the conclusion of each day on GoRedbirds.com, or on Twitter @Redbird_TrackXC.
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