Louisville Track & Field Releases 2007-08 Schedule
January 08, 2008 | Men's Track and Field
Sept. 11, 2007
University of Louisville men's and women's track and field head coach Ron Mann has released the Cards' 2007-08 schedule and it includes a pair of home meets at Cardinal Park, including the inaugural Clark Wood-Lenny Lyles Invitational on April 19 and the Cardinal Twilight on May 17.
Along with the two home meets, the Cards will also compete in several of the nation's collegiate events, which has become customary for U of L under the direction of Mann.
"Our goal at the University of Louisville is compete at the highest level because we want to test ourselves against the best in the nation and I believe this schedule is indicative of that," Mann said. "We're also excited to honor two of the legends of Louisville track and field with the Clark Wood-Lenny Lyles Invitational on April 19. It will be a scored meet with several local and national level Division I schools and a meet that should be very fan friendly with a two to two and half hour running program featuring some of the nation's top college athletes.
"We're very serious about emphasizing track and field and continuing to make it a priority in this city and that starts with hosting high level meets for our athletes and our fans."
The Cards, which finished 10th at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships, will open the 2008 indoor season on Dec. 7 at the SIU Fast Start Invitational in Carbondale, Ill. Following the holiday break, the Cards will return to indoor competition with a pair of meets in Bloomington, Ind., including the Indiana Open II on Jan. 12 and the Gladstein Invitational on Jan. 26. In Feb., the Cards will compete at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 2 and the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind., on Feb. 9, while on Feb. 15-16, the Cards will have athletes competing in a pair of prestigious events - the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.
On Feb. 23-24, the Cards will compete at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York, N.Y., while a week later the Cards will be at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind. U of L will close the indoor season on March 14-15 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
After finishing with a school record seventh-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Cards will open the 2008 outdoor season on March 21-22 at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., while the following the weekend (March 28-29), the Cards will have athletes competing at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., and the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C.
U of L will open a busy month of April at the prestigious Texas Relays on April 3-5 in Austin, Texas, while a week later they will compete at the University of Tennessee's Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville on April 9-12. Along with the Clark Wood-Lenny Lyles Invitational at Cardinal Park on April 19, the Cards will also have athletes competing at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on April 17-19, while a week later, U of L will have athletes competing at two more elite level events - the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa and the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
The Cards will open May at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on May 1-3 in Philadelphia as U of L looks to defend its 2006 men's team title. After a week off from competition, U of L will host the Cardinal Twilight on May 17, the final qualifying weekend for the NCAA regionals.
On May 30-31, the Cards will compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Fayetteville, Ark., and U of L will close the 2008 collegiate season on June 11-14 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
About Clark Wood and Lenny Lyles
Clark Wood, inducted into the U of L Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986, was the head coach of the U of L men's track and field team for 25 years and is credited with starting the Cards' men's cross country program in 1965. He first joined U of L as a football coach in 1947 and during his time as a coach and professor at U of L, he coached Cardinal legends like Lenny Lyles, Johnny Unitas and Wes Unseld.
Lenny Lyles, a member of the Cards' track and field team from 1955-58, was regarded as one of the fastest men in the nation in the 1950's. A member of the U of L Athletic Hall of Fame, Lyles is also a key figure in the history of Louisville football and was selected in the first round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. While in the NFL, he had the honor of playing in the 1958 NFL Championship Game which ended in sudden-death with the Colts defeating the New York Giants, 23-17. The game has been called "the greatest NFL game ever played."
