Minnesotans Prepare for USA Outdoors

The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships commence tomorrow in Eugene, Oregon, and Minnesota will be well represented in the meet.

By our count, twenty athletes with Minnesota tie will compete in historic Hayward Field for national titles and the chance to represent their country at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea later this summer.

The USA Junior Championships will also be contested in Eugene. The juniors open tomorrow as well and conclude on Saturday. The "senior" meet ends on Sunday.

The Minnesotans we've identified in the USA Championships are:

Men:
Will Leer (1500m)
Rob Finnerty (1500m)
Ben Blankenship (1500m)
Justin Tyner (3000m SC)
Jim Dilling (High Jump)

Women:
Heather Kampf (800m)
Laura Januszewski (800m)
Gabriele Anderson (1500m)
Kara Goucher (5000m and 10,000m)
Meghan Armstrong (5000m)
Megan Hogan (10,000m)
Danielle Stack (10,000m)
Emily Brown (10,000m)
Jamie Cheever (3000m SC)
Samantha Sonnenberg (Pole Vault)
Katelin Rains (Pole Vault)
Amanda Smock (Triple Jump)
Liz Podominick (Discus Throw)
Rachel Longfors (Discus Throw)
Liz Roehrig (Heptathlon)

Find complete entry lists for the USA Championships HERE. (If we've missed anyone, please let us know in the comment section!)

In the USA Junior Championships, Jerome Begin of Buffalo High School will compete in the 110 hurdles, Trevor Yedoni of Benilde-St. Margaret's will compete in the high jump, Michael Sandle of Eden Prairie will contest the triple jump, and Hopkins Hannah Borowsky will compete in the 800m.

Find full USA Junior entry lists HERE.

Down the Backstretch will be on the scene in Eugene all weekend!

We'll tweet Minnesota results during the meet -- find those updates on the DtB sidebar, if you don't have a Twitter account -- and we'll have full recaps of each day's action posted for reading the next morning.

If you're not making a Tracktown, USA pilgrimage yourself, join us for all the action!