Louisville Track & Field Releases 2008-09 Schedule
October 08, 2008 | Men's Track and Field
Oct. 8, 2008
2008-09 Louisville Track & Field Schedule in PDF Format 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three events at Cardinal Park, including the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional, highlight a very challenging 2008-09 track and field schedule released Wednesday by University of Louisville head coach Ron Mann.
For the first time in the six-year history of the event, the NCAA Mideast Regional will be contested in the commonwealth of Kentucky on May 29-30 at Cardinal Park. The event, one of four qualifying meets for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will feature men's and women's teams from 12 different states. Overall, the Mideast Region includes more than 80 schools and consistently features one of the deepest fields of nationally ranked teams.
The regional will be the last of three outdoor meets contested at Cardinal Park in 2009. On Saturday, April 18, U of L will host the second annual Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational, while Friday, May 15, will be the date of the Cardinal Twilight. Along with the events at Cardinal Park, Louisville will once again compete at several of the nation's most prestigious collegiate events in 2009, including the Texas Relays, Mt. SAC Relays, Drake Relays and Penn Relays.
"This indoor schedule is the most challenging we've had since I've been in Louisville and the outdoor schedule is as tough as always," Mann said. "And with our home schedule, we'll bring several quality teams to Louisville including Ohio State, Ball State, Southern Illinois and Arkansas State."
The Cards will open the indoor season on Dec. 5 at the Fast Start Invitational in Carbondale, Ill. Following a break for the holidays, the Cards will return to indoor competition on Jan. 10 at the Indiana Open in Bloomington, followed by the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 16-17 in Lexington. On Jan. 24, the Cards will compete at Purdue University's Gene Edmonds Cup in West Lafayette, Ind. On Feb. 6-7, the Cards will have athletes competing at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind., and at UK's Rod McCravy Invitational, while Feb. 13 will feature a return to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Hills Invitational at IU.
On Feb. 21-22, the Cards will travel to New York for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory. In their final pre-NCAA meet, the Cards will compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational on March 6-7 in South Bend, Ind., while the indoor season will conclude on March 13-14 at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the new McFerrin Athletic Center in College Station, Texas.
Louisville will open the 2009 outdoor season on March 20-21 at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., while the following weekend will feature the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta and the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State. On April 2-4, the Cards will return to the Lone Star State for the prestigious Texas Relays, while April 8-11 will feature the Cards' annual trek to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Sea Ray Relays.
Along with the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational, the third weekend in April will also include the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., for the Cards, while April 23-25 will feature both the Drake Relays and Penn Relays. On May 1-3, the Cards will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships at Villanova Stadium.
Following a week off from competition, the Cards will conclude the regular season with the Cardinal Invitational on May 15. Another week off from competition will precede the NCAA Mideast Regional on May 29-30 in Louisville, while the outdoor season will conclude on June 10-13 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
