WASHINGTON, D.C., June 20, 2019 – With the 2019 NCAA outdoor season recently coming to an end, the summer heats up in south Florida, where Howard University rising sophomore Jermaine Byrd returns home to take on the nation's top athletes at the 2019 USA Track & Field (USATF) U20 Outdoor Championships.

The three-day event (Friday-Sunday, June 21-23) will take place at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Fla.
 
Byrd will compete on day two (Saturday) in the men's 110-meter hurdles first round at 3:18 p.m. If he advances, the Florida native returns to the track later that night for the finals at 6:28 p.m.

Fans can follow Byrd on USATF.TV (PPV).
 
BYRD PREVIEW
 
Byrd enters the 110-meter hurdles event with a qualifying time of 14.33, which he recorded at the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Championships in Greensboro, N.C. For his efforts, he finished fifth overall despite being the lone freshman reaching the finals.
 
"[Jermaine] Byrd qualifying for a USA Track & Field [Outdoor Championships] event is huge," Howard Director of Track & Field David Oliver said. "This is going to be the toughest race of his young career but being exposed to these high level events can help springboard him into a productive collegiate career."
 
Byrd has been through a rollercoaster first year as a Bison, but the Florida product bounced back all season.
 
"Byrd had a lot of ups and downs [in his first year], but one would expect during a freshman campaign," Oliver continued. "I'm looking for him to go out [there], compete and run a new career best. After that, we will see how the chips fall."
 
Byrd returns home to Fort Lauderdale, which is approximately 20 miles away from the site of the 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships. Since the conference outdoor championships, Byrd has been training on campus with Director Oliver and his staff.
 
"He is racing in his hometown," Oliver said. "A lot of family and friends will be in the audience, so I think he has all the right ingredients in having a good showing for himself this weekend."
 
MEET INFORMATION
The 2019 USATF U20 (Junior) Championships will serve as the selection event for the 2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, July 19-21.
 
For the U.S. Team to the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships, in each individual event, the two highest placing finishers at the 2019 USATF U20 Championships who elect to compete will be named to the Team.
 
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Byrd battles tough athletes from the Pac-12, Big 12, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).