As the eyes of the track and field community follow the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., Hayward Field was also the site that capped one of the greatest seasons in Butler track and field history.

Over the past 15 months, Butler's program navigated the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing a training regimen that resulted in tremendous program accomplishments.

"In our program, we stress the daily ability to adjust, adapt, and maximize every opportunity that is presented to us," said Butler coach Matt Roe. "The pandemic was by all accounts a significant challenge.  Deep inside challenges lies great opportunities and our program's focus was to meet those challenges toe to toe and do the daily work without excuse or explanation. It was challenging and there were unprecedented difficult and uncertain moments that required constant adaptation for all.  I am proud of the outcomes we achieved through that process.  More importantly, I am proud of how our staff and our student-athletes navigated those defining moments with resilience, grace, and discipline." 

A school-record 12 Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Regional with four advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. The 12 student-athletes in the NCAA Regional tops the previous school record of nine in 2011, which was the first year the meet changed to a two-region format.

The four Bulldogs who qualified for Eugene each came away with All-America honors. Barry Keane earned second-team honors with his 15^th-place performance in the 10,000 meters. Keane was part of the fastest 10k in NCAA Championships history. Keane's time of 28:28.18 was a personal-best, six seconds better than his previous top performance. His time is second in Butler history, trailing only Erik Peterson's mark of 28:11.02 from 2017.

Euan Makepeace (5,000 meters), Remi Schyns (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Angelina Ellis (3,000-meter steeplechase) each came away with honorable mention All-America honors.

The spring of 2021 saw condensed cross country and track and field seasons.

In the spring, Butler's men captured the BIG EAST Cross Country title and went on to post a team finish of 13^th nationally at the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships in March at the Oklahoma State course in Stillwater, Okla. The 13^th-place finish is the fifth-best team finish in Butler Athletics history.

The BIG EAST men's cross country title in the spring of 2021 was highlighted by four Bulldogs among the top 10 finishers, and the varsity seven each among the top 20, which resulted in a school-record seven All-BIG EAST Conference athletes. 

The men's BIG EAST title came on the heels of the women's program taking the 2019 BIG EAST team title. Each of those team performances earned Roe and his staff recognition as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.

At the national meet, Simon Bedard earned All-American status and paced the Bulldogs with a time of 30:44.5, coming in at 37^th in the field. To earn USTFCCCA All-American honors, an individual must place in the top-40 finishers at the NCAA Championships.

After capturing the individual BIG EAST title at the 2019 Cross Country Championship, Makepeace went on to capture All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Championships with a 15^th-place finish. His performance was the fifth-best in Butler history among male student-athletes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

That is six All-Americans for Butler's program over the past two COVID-shortened seasons.

Those last two COVID-shortened seasons also include 16 school records, 10 Bulldogs earning BIG EAST individual titles, 64 All-BIG EAST honors, and eight event squads earning Top 20 NCAA rankings.