The Gateway to Sacramento:

Welcome to the 2007 NCAA^® Track & Field Championships Mideast Regional!

Welcome to Columbia! The city, and the University of Missouri, look forward to an exciting weekend of competition May 25-26.

With the exception of participants in the 10,000-meter run, decathlon, and heptathlon, the qualifying systems for the NCAA Outdoor Championships is different from the recently completed NCAA Indoor Championships. In order to get to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, each competitor must compete in his/her respective event in the regional championships. A hard-line standard is used in each event to gain entry into the regional. Get the mark, get into the regional. In addition, each conference champion in each event also gains entry into the regional.

At the regional, the top five finishers (that also declare for the national meet) in each event automatically gains entry into the national championships. The national field will also usually have five to eight at-large bids to fill in each event. Those who are at the top of the national descending order list, and who do not automatically qualify will be the first at-large bids into the national championships, provided they finish in the top 12 of their respective event in the regional (and participate and finish a final in which they were entered).

The 10,000-meter run, heptathlon, and decathlon qualifying works similarly as the NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying: A provisional and automatic standard is used for each event. Make the automatic mark, receive automatic entry into the national meet. A provisional mark gives one a possible consideration for an at-large bid.