Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Track and Field Announces 2015-16 Indoor Schedule
11/16/2015 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Full Schedule
By: Will Becque
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kathleen Raske has announced the indoor portion of the 2015-16 track & field schedule today.
The Salukis will compete in six regular season meets before appearing at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 27 and 28. SIU will also play host to two collegiate events on the recently resurfaced indoor track at the SIU Recreation Center which features a new, state-of-the-art track: Mondo's Super X 720 track.
Mondo has served as the competition surface of the Olympic Games since 1976, and more than 250 world records have been set on Mondo tracks. Other facilities in the U.S. with the Super X 720 surface include Hornet Stadium at Sacramento State University, which hosted the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Drake Stadium at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), John McDonnell Field at University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) and the Vanderbilt Student Rec Center at Vanderbilt University, a track the Salukis will compete on this season.
The first meet that SIU will host this season on the Mondo Super X 720 is the season-opening Saluki Fast Start on Saturday, Dec. 5. After taking time off for winter break, the Salukis will return to action with the University of Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 15 and 16. Following the UK Invitational, the Salukis will travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the Gladstein Invitational and will close out January at the Vanderbilt Invite on Jan. 29 and 30. Last year at Vanderbilt, senior DeAnna Price recorded a win in the weight throw while senior Josh Freeman took home the title in the shot put.
In the first weekend of February, the Salukis will host the Don DeNoon Invitational on Feb. 5 and 6. DeNoon coached at SIU for 18 years, primarily as the women's track and field and cross country coach and guided the women's track team to six outdoor conference crowns and three indoor championships. Under DeNoon's tutelage, Raske earned All-America honors in the 100m hurdles in 1989 and went on to be chosen as both the 1989 SIUC Female Athlete of the Year and SIU's Gateway Track Athlete of the Decade.
The Salukis will then travel to Birmingham, Ala. to take part in the Samford University Invitational. The two-day event takes place on Feb. 12 and 13.
SIU joins the rest of the MVC indoor track and field squads for the MVC Indoor Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa before wrapping up the indoor season at the 2016 NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
The national event is set for Mar. 11 and 12. In addition, the Salukis are looking for volunteers for home meets this season. If interested, please contact Greg Raimondi at graimondi@siu.edu.
