Division II Women’s Rowing Championship

Dates and site: May 26-28 at Finn Caspersen Aquatic Center, West Windsor, New Jersey.

Field: The Division II championship consists of a maximum of four teams competing in two events (Eights and Fours). One team is selected from each of the three regions and one team is chosen at large. Two at-large Eights also are selected.

2005 team champion: Western Washington.

Top team contenders: A May 3 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing poll named Western Washington, Barry, Dowling, Nova Southeastern and Florida Tech as the top five teams.

Championship notes: The Buccaneers of Barry achieved one of their goals this season by earning their first Sunshine State Conference championship since 2000 and their third overall earlier this month. With the victory, Barry, which is aiming for its third overall appearance in the championship, snapped Florida Tech’s string of three straight conference titles ... Under the guidance of eight-year head coach John Fuchs, Western Washington is seeking to become the second repeat champion since the championship began in 2002. The Vikings were national runners up to UC Davis, which claimed back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.

Division II Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 25-27 at Emporia State.

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 16.

2005 team champion: Abilene Christian.

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

Championships notes: After falling short in March in its bid for a fifth straight indoor crown, Abilene Christian is setting its sights on extending its title streak to five at the outdoor championships. Qualifying marks through early May (including top marks by defending 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run titlist Nicodemus Naimadu) put the Wildcats in the favorite’s seat ... However, Abilene Christian still must fend off what has become the usual cast of challengers, including indoor victor Saint Augustine’s (which returns defending 110-meter hurdles champion Unyime Akpan and long jump champ Fabian Hutchinson), 2005 runner-up Adams State (which could offset Naimadu’s points with multiple scorers in distance events), and Lincoln (Missouri), whose Wilbert Walker swept the jumps at the indoor meet ... Abilene Christian is just four individual victories short of becoming only the second outdoor track team in any NCAA division to collect 100 individual titles (Southern California’s men have claimed 109 championships).

Division II Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 25-27 at Emporia State.

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 16.

2005 team champion: Lincoln (Missouri).

Top team contenders: Lincoln (Missouri), Adams State, Abilene Christian, Saint Augustine’s, Grand Valley State, Angelo State.

Championships notes: Multiple Lincoln (Missouri) sprinters were among leaders in qualifying times through mid-May, setting up the Blue Tigers for a run at joining Abilene Christian (1985 through 1988) as the only teams to win four straight outdoor crowns. Lincoln newcomer Davita Prendergast was the top qualifier at 400 meters ... Abilene Christian may be in the best position to halt the Blue Tigers’ streak, with its ability to challenge for individual titles in a variety of events (Trina Cox and Angie Aguilar are top qualifiers in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and pole vault, respectively), while Adams State is very capable of posting its sixth top-three finish — and possibly even a first-ever team crown — with its strong distance corps ... Fort Valley State junior Lynnsey Dailey, who won three events at last year’s championships, is seeking a second straight sweep of the hurdles.