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The 2025 Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track and field championships will see seven returning champions attempt to defend their titles. Here’s a look at who’s trying to repeat when the championships hit Eugene, Oregon.

Men’s shot put: Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan | Ole Miss

Can Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan make it four in a row in the men’s shot put? The Bowerman candidate will attempt his second consecutive season sweep in Eugene.

If he pulls it off, he’ll be the first since Arizona State’s Jordan Clarke to win four straight shot put tiles (2011 outdoor, 2012 sweep, 2013 indoor) and the first since Arizona State’s Ryan Whiting to pull off consecutive sweeps (2009-10). Whiting won five straight titles, for reference.

LIVE UPDATES: Click or tap here to follow along for live updates from the championship

Men’s 10,000 meters: Habtom Samuel | New Mexico

New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel fell during a 10K win at 2024 outdoor championships and lost a shoe at the 2024 cross country championships. Who knows what could be in store for the Lobo at 2025 outdoor championships?

Samuel is hoping it’s another NCAA title. But he’ll face stiff competition, even from his own teammate who broke his 10,000 meter NCAA record.

Women’s 3000 meter steeplechase: Doris Lemngole | Alabama

Speaking of records, Alabama’s Doris Lemngole has solidified herself as the greatest 3000 meter steeplechase runner in NCAA history. She broke the record she ran at the 2024 championships during the regular season this year, finishing in 9:10.13. At the East meet, she ran another all-time mark, giving her the top three times in NCAA history.

RECORD-BREAKING: Tracking every track and field record broken in the 2025 season

Men’s long jump: JC Stevenson | Southern California

USC’s JC Stevenson helped lead the Trojans end a 53-year title drought during the indoor season. However, no Trojan man won an individual title indoors. JC Stevenson will look to change that narrative outdoors with a repeat in the long jump.

Women’s high jump: Rose Yeboah (Illinois) AND Elena Kulichenko (Georgia)

A tie has split the NCAA women’s high jump title at the most recent indoor and outdoor meets. When looking back at 2024’s outdoor meet, both student-athletes from the top of the podium return this year — Illinois’ Rose Yeboah and Georgia’s Elena Kulichencko.

Yeboah will be looking to return to first place after finishing sixth indoors. Meanwhile, Kulichencko was also atop the podium with a tie during the indoor season, so she’ll try to make it three straight high jump titles. She would be the first to achieve the feat since Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin did so from 2022-23.

MORE: Every indoor and outdoor track and field individual event champion from the 21st century

Women’s pole vault: Chloe Timberg | Rutgers

Chloe Timberg won the women’s pole vault title last year with the best pole vault in NCAA history at the time since 2015. Since then, the NCAA record has been broken three times.

2025 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships: Live updates, results, schedule, how to watch

Here’s a quick guide to the 2025 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, including a schedule, links to results and how to to watch the annual track and field meet.

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College softball regional hosts with the toughest paths to the WCWS

Michella Chester breaks down the teams with the toughest regional and Women’s College World Series paths in the 2025 NCAA softball tournament.

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Head-to-head matchups to watch for at the 2025 SEC outdoor track and field championships

Here’s a look at some of the top potential head-to-head matchups to watch at the SEC Championships.

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Fluor Field in Greenville has been a catalyst for revitalization and economic growth in the West End neighborhood over the past 20 years.Local businesses have seen significant increases in revenue and foot traffic during baseball season, with some attributing up to a 30% boost to the stadium’s presence.Beyond economic benefits, Fluor Field has fostered a sense of community and safety, attracting residents and contributing to a vibrant social scene.The stadium has also become a popular venue for various events, further enhancing its value to the city beyond baseball.As Fluor Field celebrates its 20th anniversary, its success has inspired similar development in nearby Spartanburg, highlighting the potential of minor league baseball as a community asset.Folks who watched the CBS Evening News on May 2 learned what we already know: The Greenville Drive has been a major player in the transformation of downtown Greenville in its 20-year history.A segment on the evening’s broadcast, called Eye on America, focused on “how a minor league ballpark revived a struggling downtown in South Carolina,” according to a social media post.

“In Greenville, South Carolina, a minor league baseball stadium is doing more than hosting games — it’s revitalizing a city,” CBS News wrote on its social media site. “Fluor Field, home to the Greenville Drive, has become a community hub and an economic engine, helping transform a once-blighted area into a thriving downtown.”

Reporter Mark Strassman called Fluor Field “a field of dreams come true for Greenville, South Carolina.”

In the segment, Strassman said, “The stadium is home to the Greenville Drive, a High-A minor league baseball team of the Boston Red Sox, complete with a replica of Fenway Park’s Green Monster.”

Craig Brown, Greenville Drive owner and chairman, Greenville Mayor Knox White, and Old Europe Desserts owner Bobby Daugherty were interviewed in the segment.

“Fluor Field has become the front porch of the community,” Brown said in the segment. “In the South, the front porch is where the family gathers. That’s very much how we operate the place.”

White recalled the skepticism that came with the idea of building a ballpark in the West End of Greenville more than 20 years ago. “There was a letter to the editor that said, ‘You get a baseball stadium there, only prostitutes will go to the baseball games,” White said in the segment.

Instead, the stadium was built, and businesses followed, thriving as a result.

“I sell cake,” business owner Daugherty said in the segment. “I need bodies to the door. So I knew I was kind of right in the middle of traffic. That’s the sweet spot.”

The Greenville Drive highlighted the segment in a Facebook post, writing, “We live in the best community with the best fans!”

Click here to watch.

Economic impact of Fluor Field

Over the past decade, the Greenville Drive and Fluor Field have generated nearly $300 million in economic impact for the surrounding region, according to a study by Visit Greenville SC.

Fluor Field and the Greenville Drive have an annual economic impact of $34 million and have made $288 million in financial contributions over the past 10 years, according to USC professor Tom Regan, who researched the economic impact of the nearly 20-year-old stadium.

In 2024, Regan’s study concluded that Fluor Field was responsible for $20.4 million in direct spending, $15.7 million in wages and income accumulated, and $1.36 million in taxes generated, alongside a $34 million economic impact.

Since its development nearly 20 years ago, the privately built stadium has seen more than 430 new business permits within a half-mile radius, with an estimated $277 million in new business construction.Beyond Greenville Drive home games, Fluor Field hosts hundreds of additional local events each year, which contribute to spending and overall financial impact, including Imagine Upstate, euphoria, the Southern Conference Baseball Championship, and more, according to the study.Fluor Field transforms the West EndWhen Fluor Field at the West End broke ground in June 2005, Greenville officials believed the idea of baseball could help revitalize a section of the city while also serving as an extension of the Boston Red Sox.

Nearly 20 years later, neighboring businesses and the redeveloped West End area cheer what Greenville’s “Green Monster” baseball team and outdoor facility have provided — a neighborhood considered safe, and months of the year to take advantage of the stadium’s foot traffic.

“That site used to be an old storefront that sold wood prior to becoming Fluor Field,” said Lillian Brock Flemming, a Greenville city council member who represents District 2, where the stadium sits.

The city had struggled for years to revitalize the area, which had languished since the textile era ended and later, when families left for the surrounding suburbs.

“Initially, they (Red Sox) came to us looking for a place for their team, and I believe they looked at Greenville for its possibilities, location, and the idea of partnering alongside a city in a desirable area,” she added.

Earlier this year, Greenville Drive officials celebrated their 20th anniversary of baseball in the West End.

$10 paid for the property for the baseball field

According to county deed records, the city of Greenville purchased the property at 935 S. Main Street from the School District of Greenville for $10 and other valuable considerations in October of 2004. Nearly a year later, construction began on the stadium, which is widely considered the first part of the new arts and entertainment district of downtown Greenville. The Drive paid about $20 million to build the stadium.

Russell Stall, another city council member, said prior to the sale of Fluor Field property, Greenville County Schools had ideas of using the grounds for a Greenville Senior High School baseball field. Post-sale, the city envisioned a space that paid homage to the storied baseball history of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Greenville Braves.

“Bringing minor league baseball back to Greenville meant paying respect to the old nearby Mayberry Park, bringing jobs to the West End, and also allowing community organizations to fundraise at the stadium, which all happen to this day,” said Brock Flemming. “I think Fluor Field has held up to its end of the bargain.”

Fluor Field a home run for business

Fluor Field hosts 6,700 seats, providing area businesses with increased foot traffic and opportunities for business during the season, which spans from April to September.

For some shops, the field and ballclub help substantiate their business during and outside of the season.

“It’s a world of a difference for us,” said Mike Summerfield, general manager of Mac’s Speed Shop, a restaurant that sits just across the street from Fluor Field. “We see around a 30 percent revenue increase once the season is in versus when it’s not… but beyond the dollars, it’s always a fun time for the restaurant as we feel like an extension of the ballpark.”

For The Goat Sports Bar, in-season foot traffic enables their business to thrive outside of their regular peak season, which typically occurs between September and February.

“Our busy season is normally the NFL and college football season, where people stay at our restaurant for a few hours,” said Hector Batista, owner of the sports bar, located a block west of Fluor Field. “Soon as football is over, spring training, and then the Drive’s season starts, which brings a lot of foot traffic into our space for people to enjoy for a quick bite before or after games.”

Even the non-profit South Carolina Children’s Theatre has benefited since moving near the stadium in 2020.

“I can’t say that (proximity to Fluor Field) has led to increased revenue for our productions or education offerings,” said Amanda Sox, the theatre’s communications manager. “But we have increased revenue from families parking in our lot during (Drive) games.”

“I think the proximity of Fluor Field and The Drive has benefited all of the businesses in the West End, helping us become a primary Greenville destination rather than just an offshoot of Main Street attractions,” she added.

‘There’s a safe neighborhood vibe’

Just as Fenway Park is nestled into a Boston neighborhood with a flurry of social activity, Fluor Field at the West End accomplishes a similar feat, yet on a smaller scale.

Parking is one challenge that remains in the area, Brock Fleming said. More public parking spaces are needed, despite the presence of three city-owned garages nearby.

But there’s “more to being next to Fluor Field besides foot traffic,” said Jesse Van Note, owner of The Whale, a craft beer space located a block west of the stadium. “There’s a safe neighborhood vibe on this end of downtown, which allows my business to continually host our ‘regulars’ and give people an alternate social scene from what North Main may offer.”

“We have a lot of neighbors,” said Batista of The Goat Sports Bar. “My wife and I opened at this location because of the stadium and also it had the neighborhood feel. On the other hand, if we were further north on Main Street, our establishment may have more of a touristic feel.”

Outside of baseball games, Fluor Field is host to many popular social events such as euphoria, Fall Wine Fest, and Kringle Holiday Village, as well as an annual STEM event that connects students with leaders in science and manufacturing.

“Overall, I believe that Fluor Field is working out really well in the West End,” said Brock Flemming. “We’re excited to see the next chapter of its benefit to that historic district and area.”

– A.J. Jackson covers business, the food & dining scene and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Sign up today for a digital subscription.