University of the District of Columbia to Compete in First Ever East Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships

FARMINGDALE, NY – The reigning East Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field champion University of the District of Columbia Firebirds will look to sweep the conference championships this weekend as they compete in the first ever ECC Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Queens College.

The event will begin on Saturday, April 27th at 2 p.m. with all Field Events taking place that day at Farmingdale College. Action will resume on Sunday, April 28th at 9:45 a.m. with all the track events at Queens College concluding the meet. 

"We're excited and looking forward to the opportunity to compete this weekend," ECC Indoor Track & Field coach of the year Alton McKenzie said. "Winning the Indoor Championships was a great accomplishment, but winning Outdoor will be even more of a challenge."

The Firebirds enter the Outdoor Championships event ranked No. 8 in the region. They were able to upset a higher-ranked Georgian Court team in the Indoor Championship back in March with just 13 athletes by winning all but one event they entered and having multiple scorers in each of those events.

Completing another upset of Georgian Court (ranked No. 3 in the region) will be more difficult in the Outdoor Championships, according to McKenzie, because there are an additional two field events usually dominated by the Lions.

"I believe we're up to the task, but the team has to go out there and execute and compete as a team," McKenzie said. "We're going to rely on our strengths – the sprints and jumps – and see where that takes us."

District of Columbia has had great success all season long in the sprint and jump events. The 4x100M relay team is ranked No. 1 in the region, the 4x400M relay is ranked No. 2 in the region, and there are a handful of individual Firebirds ranked in the top-eight in the region in their respective events.

"We're ready to compete well," McKenzie said. "Regardless of the outcome, it will be fun to compete at the Conference Championship."