Division II Women's Rowing Championship

Dates and site: The championship will be May 28-30 at the CSUS Aquatic Center in Sacramento, California.

Field: A maximum of four teams, one from each region and one selected at large, will compete in two events, I Eights and II Eights, covering a 2,000-meter course. Each team must field one boat of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers with a coxswain. In addition, two at-large Eights will be selected from any region.

Selection date: May 18.

2003 team champion: UC Davis.

Top team contenders: Western Washington, Mercyhurst, Florida Tech, Humboldt State, Nova Southeastern and UC San Diego are listed at the top of a recent USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: Top-ranked Western Washington has twice come up short for a national title, finishing second in 2002 and 2003. This year, the Vikings are seeking to become the only team besides two-time defending champion UC Davis to earn the Division II crown ... Florida Tech is seeking its second straight berth in the championship field after a fourth-place finish last year ... Second-ranked Mercyhurst has relied strongly on seven returning members from a 2003 squad that finished fourth in the championship, including junior captain Kerri Kanaley and senior Kristen Ficorilli.

Division II Men's Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 27-29 at Cal Poly Pomona.

Field: A total of 310 athletes will compete in the championships. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers May 18.

2003 team champion: Abilene Christian.

Top team contenders: Abilene Christian, Saint Augustine's, Adams State, Lincoln (Missouri).

Championships notes: Abilene Christian, which has won three straight indoor titles, now seeks its third straight outdoor team title. Senior Bernard Manirakiza will be seeking the sixth and seventh individual titles of his indoor and outdoor career in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs, after winning at both distances at the indoor championships in March. Sophomore Yevgen Pashchenko has the best mark so far this season in the triple jump and also likely will score in the long jump ... Bershawn Jackson is only a freshman at Saint Augustine's, but he's already among favorites to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in his specialty, the 400-meter hurdles, and he boosted his team to a second-place finish at the indoor championships with sprint and relay victories ... Adams State is very deep in the distance events, and looks to the same crew of runners that grabbed last fall's cross country championships title and powered the Grizzlies to a third-place finish indoors in March to propel the team into contention ... Lincoln looks to improve on last year's best-ever fifth-place finish, and the Blue Tigers' Lerone Clark is a contender for titles at 100 and 200 meters.

Division II Women's Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 27-29 at Cal Poly Pomona.

Field: A total of 310 athletes will compete in the championships. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers May 18.

2003 team champion: Lincoln (Missouri).

Top team contenders: Lincoln (Missouri), Adams State, Abilene Christian, North Dakota State, Saint Augustine's.

Championships notes: Defending champion Lincoln won the indoor team title in March and is seeking its first indoor-outdoor championships sweep. The Blue Tigers' Moya Thompson had the only automatic-qualifying times in the 200- and 400-meter dashes through May 7 ... Adams State appears capable of dominating the distance events and could use those points as a springboard to claim the team crown. The Grizzlies' Zoila Gomez has posted a qualifying time under 16 minutes in the 5,000 meters and is threatening a 19-year-old championships record in the event ... Abilene Christian had its 21-year streak of Lone Star Conference outdoor track titles snapped by Angelo State, which won by a single point. But the Wildcats appear likely to qualify enough potential scorers -- including defending pole-vault champion Katie Eckley -- to contend for the Division II title ... North Dakota State, led by defending 400-meter hurdles champion Kinsey Coles, would like to celebrate its final appearance in the meet with a victory, while Saint Augustine's seeks to finish first or second for the ninth straight year.