Track & Field Schedule Unveiled
SALT LAKE CITY – With cross country season all wrapped up, head coach Kyle Kepler unveiled the 2021-22 Utah track & field schedule on Saturday.
The Women of Utah will have a full complement of competition for the indoor season this year after splitting the indoor and cross country last season due to COVID-19. In addition, first-year assistant coach Rebecca Rhodes will lead the track & field squad.
The Utes get a preview of what they look like on Friday, Dec. 10, when they compete at the BYU Opener down in Provo before taking a holiday break. Utah will then kick off the complete indoor season down at Smith Fieldhouse when it competes at the BYU Invitational (Jan. 14-15).
Two weeks later, it will head to the Pacific Northwest to compete at the annual UW Invitational inside Dempsey before splitting the squad up the week of Feb. 4-5. Utah will have some stay local and compete at the Weber State Indoor Invitational while the rest heads to Spokane, Wash., to race at the WSU Invitational at The Podium.
Utah will then head to Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 11-12 for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational before sending a select group to the Arkansas Qualifier (Feb. 18). Instead of the usual MPSF Indoor Championships, Washington will play host to the Pac-12 Invitational (Feb. 25-26). That same weekend, the Utes also look to send a contingent to The Podium in hopes of establishing qualifying marks at the USATF Indoor Championships (Feb. 25-26) ahead of the NCAA Championships (March 11-12) – which will take place at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.
The move to the outdoor season does not take long as Utah opens at the Trojan Invitational the week after the indoor championships on Saturday, March 19. It'll then get some time to rest before heading back to Clovis, Calif., for the West Coast Relays (April 1).
Utah will once again split hosting duties with Weber State as part of the Utah Spring Classic with the Wildcats hosting select events on Friday, April 8, before the Utes play host to the main events and finals on Saturday, April 9. In addition, the Utah cross country and track & field programs will honor its seniors throughout the meet that day.
The Utes will make their return to the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 14-15) and famed Mt. SAC Relays (April 14-16) after a hiatus last year due to the pandemic. Utah then sends a group back down south to compete at the Robison Invitational (April 22-23) before closing out the regular-season at the world-renowned Drake Relays (April 28-30).
This year's Pac-12 Outdoor Championships host will be Oregon as they welcome in the rest of the league May 13-15 and give participants a feel for the newly reimagined Hayward Field before the Ducks host the NCAA Championships again in June. This year's NCAA West Preliminaries (May 26 & 28) will be hosted by Arkansas with the women competing alternating days from the men.
For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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