Oct. 16, 2012
2012-13 Track & Field Schedule
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four traditional home indoor meets highlight a 23-meet indoor and outdoor track and field schedule for the 2012-13 season, head coach Joe Piane announced recently.
The Meyo Track plays host to four meets during the indoor season including the Blue & Gold Invitational (Dec. 7), Notre Dame Invitational (Jan. 19), Meyo Invitational (Feb. 1-2) and Alex Wilson Invitational (March 1-2). The Meyo Invitational, including the famous Meyo Mile race, will be held for the 27th time.
The Blue & Gold Invitational is the lone meet in 2012, but the Irish open 2013 with three meets in January. Notre Dame opens the new year at Grand Valley State for the GVSU Holiday Open (Jan. 11-12). Following the Notre Dame Invitational (Jan. 19) the Irish head to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Relays (Jan. 25-26).
The Meyo Invitational (Feb. 1-2) opens February and the GVSU Big Meet (Feb. 8-9) leads into the BIG EAST Indoor Championships (Feb. 16-17). The meet will be held in Geneva, Ohio at the 240,000-square-foot Spire Institute. Last year the Irish won the men’s title for the fifth time and took fourth in the women’s meet, a four-place jump from 2011.
The final two indoor meets of the season will be the Alex Wilson Invitational held at the Meyo Track (March 1-2) and the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 8-9), in Fayetteville, Ark.
To qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, student-athletes must meet a qualifying standard that is set for each event. Last year the men’s distance medley relay team won the national championship, while pole vaulter Kevin Schipper and pentathlete Maddie Buttinger earned All-America honors in their respective events.
The outdoor season gets underway in Houston, Texas at the Victor Lopez Invitational (March 22-23). The following weekend the Irish head to a pair of meets in the Stanford Invitational (March 29-30) in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Oliver Nikilof Open (March 29-30) in Cincinnati, Ohio, to close out the month of March.
April is a full month of meets with the Michigan State Invitational opening the month (April 5-6), followed by the Louisville Border Battle on April 13. The next weekend sees the Irish compete in two separate meets, the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., (April 18-19) and the Polytan Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., (April 18-21). The month closes out with the elite Drake Relays and the Hillsdale Gina Relays (April 26-27).
Rutgers will play host to the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships (May 4-6) in Piscataway, N.J. Last season the Irish men claimed their eighth team title, while the women finished second, an improvement of eight spots from the year before.
Following the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, Notre Dame student-athletes will have one final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA East First Round, when they compete at the GVSU Last Chance Meet in Allendale, Mich., (May 10-11).
The NCAA East Preliminary Round will be held in Greensboro, N.C., (May 23-25) and will be hosted by North Carolina A&T. To qualify for the East Regionals, student-athletes must be in the top 40 in the East in their respective event.
Individuals that advance past the East Preliminary Round will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., (June 5-8). Last season 14 Notre Dame student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships, with Rebecca Tracy earning second team All-America honors in the 1,500m run.
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