Jan. 5, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky track and field program is excited to announce its 2012 indoor and outdoor schedules, UK head coach Don Weber said Thursday.
The Wildcats will open the season with back-to-back home meets at the Nutter Field House, with the season-opening Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 13-14, and the Rod McCravy Memorial on Jan. 27-28.
The Kentucky Invitational, beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 13, will host the Arkansas women’s track and field team, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Marshall (women), Middle Tennessee, Tennessee and Vanderbilt (women).
Following the Rod McCravy Memorial, Kentucky will head north to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational. The Cats will then split squads to compete Feb. 10-11 in the SPIRE Collegiate Inviational in Geneva, Ohio, and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.
Kentucky will host the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships this year for the sixth time. The championships, held at the Nutter Field House from Feb. 24-26, will feature some of the best track and field teams and athletes in the country. It will be the first time Kentucky has hosted the prestigious meet since 2009, and the third time since 2007.
NCAA qualifying will take place in Ames, Iowa and South Bend, Ind., on March 2-3, and the NCAA Championships will be held March 9-10 in Boise, Idaho.
The Kentucky outdoor schedule begins March 16 with the Bulls Invitational in Tampa, Fla. The squads will then break up to compete in the Texas Relays (March 29-31) and the Yellow Jacket Invitational (March 30-31).
Kentucky will compete in Gainesville, Fla., for the Florida Relays (April 6-7), before going to Louisville for the Kentuckiana Border Battle on April 14. The Wildcats finish the outdoor regular season with the Polytan Invitational (April 20-21), Penn Relays (April 26-28) and Payton Jordan Invitational (April 29).
The 2012 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships are being held in Baton Rouge, La. Similar to the indoor championships, some of the nation’s finest athletes will descend upon the campus of LSU to compete for a conference championship.
The NCAA East Preliminaries, taking place from March 24-26 will be in Jacksonville, Fla., this season, after being held in Bloomington, Ind., one year ago. The Wildcats will then compete in the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa from June 6-9.
Returning 16 student-athletes on both the men’s and women’s teams, Kentucky is excited about the athletes coming back, and also the impressive group of freshmen and transfers who will be entering their first years with Kentucky.
For more news and information on the Kentucky track and field program, follow the Wildcats on Twitter “@KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.
