The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Announce 2004 Track & Field Schedule
10/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Oct. 1, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- UAB track & field has released its 2004 schedules, head coach Ray Stanfield announced Tuesday. The Blazers will have six indoor and seven outdoor events to prepare for the postseason. Among these, the team will travel to the both the Tyson Invitational at Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the Drake Relays at Des Moines, Iowa, where they will share a surface with some of the country's top track and field programs.
"This year's schedule is very competitive," said Stanfield. "We stepped it up a notch because we've done the same athletically. The kids we have now are of the caliber that should see this type of competition. It could be one of the best track teams that we've had at UAB."
The indoor schedule blasts out of the starting blocks on January 8, when the team travels to Knoxville, Tennessee, to participate in the Tennessee All-Comers competition. Next, the team heads north to Carbondale, Illinois, before returning to Tennessee on January 23-24 to run in one of the nation's best indoor facilities at the ETSU Classic in Johnson City. Following a two-week break, the Blazers go to Fayetteville, Arkansas, site of the indoor NCAA Championships, for the Tyson Invitational on March 12-13. Among other SEC and Big 12 track powerhouses, defending national champion LSU will be in the field.
"Anyone who's anyone will be at the Tyson Invitational," said Stanfield. "That's why you run Division I, so you can face teams like this."
The February 14 Clemson (S.C.) Indoor and February 20 S.E.M.O. Triangular in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, round out the regular season indoor schedule before the Conference USA Championships on February 27-28 in Houston, Texas, and the NCAA Championships on March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The outdoor season begins on March 13, when the Samford Invitational brings teams from around the country to the Blazers' own backyard. Five days later, the team stays in-state to run in one of the great meets in the South, the Alabama Relays, which takes place in Tuscaloosa on March 18-21.
An open date on March 27 allows the team to prepare for a tough five-week stretch, which begins with the South Florida Relays on April 2-3 in Tampa, Florida, and ends with the Mississippi Open on May 1 in Oxford, Mississippi. Along with the Sea Rays and Ole Miss Invitationals on April 9-10 and April 17-18, respectively, this critical point in the schedule also includes the Drake Relays on April 22-24 in Des Moines, Iowa. Last year, the team took eight runners to participate in one of collegiate track and field's premier events. Stanfield said that number should increase in 2004.
"Hopefully, this year we'll take a few more to Drake, which is still one of the top three meets in the nation," he said. "The community is a lot like Eugene, Oregon, in that it is very track knowledgeable. It's a great place to run."
Another open date on May 8 precedes the Conference USA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 13-15, followed by the South Region Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 28-29, and the NCAA Championships on June 9-12 in Austin, Texas.
