Tech Track Team Announces 2003 Track Schedule
December 13, 2002 | Track and Field
Dec. 13, 2002
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech track and field head coach Wes Kittley released the 18-meet 2003 indoor and outdoor track and field schedule Friday morning. Tech will host three indoor meets between Jan. 25 and Feb. 7 as well as a pair of outdoor meets in March and May.
The biggest addition to this year's schedule is the outdoor regional meet held in Lincoln, Neb., the weekend of May 30. The addition of the regional meet will eliminate the NCAA automatic and provisional qualifying standards, requiring athletes to finish in the top five at the regional meet, or receive an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Championships.
"Regionals will be very interesting," commented Kittley. "I don't know how the addition of a regional meet will effect the conference meets. I think that there is the possibility that some great athletes will not make the NCAA Championships because they get hurt or run at a strong regional. I would like to see how it plays out this year, but I don't think that it will hurt or help us, but it will be interesting."
The 2003 indoor season officially starts Jan. 17 at the U.S. Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev., but the majority of the team will have to wait until the following weekend to see action at the Red Raider Open.
The indoor season will consist of eight regular season meets with the Big 12 Championships held in Lincoln Feb. 28-March 1 and the NCAA Championships concluding the indoor season in Fayetteville, Ark., March 14-15.
Tech will compete in the Texas Tech Invitational in its first outdoor meet before hitting the road for the 76th Texas Relays the April 2-5. The Red Raiders will compete at the Big 12 Championships May 17-19 in Austin, Texas, before getting a week off before the NCAA Regional meet. Sacramento, Calif., is the 2003 host site for the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 11-14.