May 23, 2018
For the first time in 32 years, San Jose State University is competing in the NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
When the West Preliminary Championship begins on May 24, Craig Huff, a junior from Huntington Beach, Calif., and Jose Piña, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif., will have their Spartan gear and apparel packed for the 2.5-hour drive to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.
Huff will be competing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, Friday, May 25. He posted an 8:54.39 time at the Mt. SAC Relays. His career best of 8:53.03 set in 2017 is #2 on the all-time San Jose State list. Only four Spartans have steeplechase best times under 9:00.00.
Piña is entered in the 10,000 meters on Thursday, May 24. He was clocked in 29:25.16 at the Stanford Invitational in his career race at that distance. The mark is #4 on the all-time San Jose State list.
The upcoming NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship Preliminary in Sacramento will be his second time in NCAA Championship action. Piña raced in the 2016 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
Twelve qualifiers out of a field of 48 from each event will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 7-9.
The last Spartan to compete in a NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship was thrower Fred Schumacher who placed third in the hammer throw at the 1986 championships.
Before San Jose State discontinued track and field following the 1988 season, the Spartans once were atop the world in men's track and field winning Olympic Games medals, the 1969 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship and producing 24 NCAA individual event champions.
In August 2016, the university announced the program would be reinstated in Fall 2018 coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Olympics when San Jose State athletes won four gold and one bronze medal in men's track and field and the icon moment when medal winners Tommie Smith and John Carlos each held a fist high in the air as a symbolic gesture for human rights and equality.
Six San Jose State women's track and field team members are joining Huff and Pina at the meet. Senior Cambree Harbaugh and Destiny Longmire are in the long jump; Nicole Iloanya, triple jump; Brittany Brown, 100-meter hurdles; Jeanette Zambrano, 3,000 meter steeplechase; and Jennifer Sandoval, 10,000.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR SAN JOSE STATE
Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif.
All times Pacific
| Thursday, May 24 | Event | Competitor |
| 9:00 p.m. | 10,000 meters | Jose Piña |
| Friday, May 25 | Event | Competitor |
| 8:20 p.m. | 3,000 meter steeplechase | Craig Huff |