Spartans Release Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Schedules
11/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Nov. 16, 2009
2010 Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field Schedule
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate Track and Field team will kick off year number three on Jan. 22 when it travels to Johnson City, Tenn. for the Niswonger Invitational. Following the season-opening meet, the Spartans will face some of the best teams in the nation at three other meets before concluding the season at the Atlantic Sun Championships.
"As our program matures, we are continuing to beef-up our schedule," said head track and field coach Jimmy Stephens. "We also want to keep increasing the level of our competition so we can provide our athletes the ability to compete at the height of the Division I level."
The Spartans will travel west to Clemson, S.C., for the second meet of the season when they compete in the Clemson Games on Jan. 29-30. The following weekend the Spartans will head to Newport News, Va., for the Vince Brown Invitational.
In the final tune-up prior to conference, Upstate will head to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the UNC Meet on Feb. 12. The indoor season will conclude on Feb. 19-20 when the Spartans compete in the A-Sun Championships. The championship event will take place in Johnson City, Tenn.
The Spartans will have nearly a month off before beginning the outdoor season. The season begins on March 18 when Upstate travels up I-85 to Charlotte, N.C., to compete in the 49er Classic. The Spartans will compete in a meet every week during the season, with the exception of one.
Following the 49er Classic, the teams will split up for a pair of meets. The Spartans will compete in the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., (Mar. 26-27) as well as the Weems Baskin Relays (Mar. 27) in Columbia, S.C. The following weekend, the teams will again travel to the state of North Carolina, as they head to Durham, N.C., for the Duke Invitational.
"I am excited about the quality of competition that we will be facing this season," said assistant track and field coach Carson Blackwelder. "With the tests that we will face it will give us an indication of the strong points of our program as well as what to focus on for the future."
Upstate will again split when part of the team heads to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Sea Ray Relays (Apr. 7-10), while another part of the team travels to Greenville, S.C., for the Furman Invitational (Apr. 10). The Spartans will be together the following two weeks, as they compete in the Bulldog Limited in Athens, Ga. (Apr. 17) and host the USC Upstate Invitational on Apr. 24.
"We are competing in several quality meets this season," added Stephens. "I am also very excited about hosting a meet here in Spartanburg this season."
Upstate will have off the first weekend of May and will return to action on May 7 when they travel to Clemson, S.C., for the second time to compete in the Orange and Purple Classic. The Spartans will also travel to Duke for the second time as they compete in the Duke Twilight on May 9.
The Spartans third D-I season will conclude at the A-Sun Championships in Jacksonville, Fla. The two-day event will take place on May 14-15.
