All Roads Lead Through Track Town in 2011

Hayward Field will be the site of the USA World Championships Trials, NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.

          EUGENE, Ore. – The road to championship meets around the world will lead through Track Town, USA, in 2011, as Hayward Field will host the USA World Championship Trials and NCAA West Regional Preliminary Rounds among its home meets this spring.

          The home slate, as announced Monday by Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna, includes the Oregon Preview on March 19, the Pepsi Team Invitational on April 9, the Oregon Relays, presented by Oregon Community Credit Union, on April 22-23, the Oregon Twilight on May 6 and the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on May 26-28.

          The University of Oregon will also host the 2011 USA World Championships Trials June 23-26. The USA Junior national championships will also be held during those same dates.

          The last two home meets of the season are of particular consequence because they will serve as the gateway for the major national and international meets of 2011. The West Regional leads to the 2011 NCAA Championships, while the USA World Championships Trials will produce America’s team for the IAAF World Championships.

          “We are excited to bring another season of high-level track and field meets to Hayward Field in 2011,”  said Lananna. “From the Pepsi meet to the NCAA Preliminary Rounds to the U.S. Trials for the World Championships, this should again be a special year for Track Town, USA.”

          The defending NCAA indoor champion Women of Oregon, as well as the national runner-up men, begin the indoor season Jan. 15 at the UW Indoor Preview. The team will also visit Seattle for the UW Indoor Invitational on Jan. 28-29, the Husky Classic on Feb. 11-12, the MPSF Championships on Feb. 25-26 and the UW Last Chance Qualifier on March 5.

          Oregon will also send a small contingent of women’s sprinters to the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 11-12. That will be the Ducks’ only trip to Fayetteville in 2011. Texas A&M will host the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships March 11-12 in College Station, Texas.

          The outdoor season starts a week later with the March 19 Oregon Preview.

          The teams then head to Stanford for the March 25-26 Stanford Invitational before returning home to host an exciting Pepsi Team Invitational on April 9 between Oregon, Stanford, Washington and Nebraska. Stanford will be making its first regular season appearance at Hayward Field since 1996, while Nebraska returns to the Pepsi meet for the first time since 1999. Conversely, the Huskies will be making their eighth Pepsi appearance in the last nine seasons.

          The following week, the women will compete at the Mt. SAC Relays April 14-16, while the men will travel to UCLA to face the Bruins in a dual meet on April 17. It will be Oregon’s first dual meet in Los Angeles since 1976.

          The remainder of the month has the Ducks hosting the Oregon Relays, presented by Oregon Community Credit Union, April 22-23, and then travelling to the Penn Relays April 28-30 and the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford on April 30.

          Oregon wraps up the regular season by hosting the Oregon Twilight on May 6.

          The 2011 Pac-10 Championships will be held in Tucson, Ariz., with the combined events contested May 6-7 and the main portion of the meet taking place a week later, May 13-14.

          Track Town, USA, will host the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds May 26-28, and the top 12 finishers in each event at Hayward Field will advance to the NCAA Championships, which are June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa.

          Following the collegiate season, Oregon will host the 2011 USA World Championships Trials June 23-26 at Historic Hayward Field, as well as the USA Junior National championships. Team USA for the 2011 IAAF World Championships, which will be held Aug. 27-Sept. 4 in Daegu, South Korea will be selected at the Trials in Track Town. The Junior Championships will serve as the basis to select America’s team for the 2011 Pan American Games, which will be held Oct. 13-20 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

          The road to the 2012 Olympic Games in London will also run through Eugene, with the U.S. Olympic Trials set for July of 2012.

          2011 season tickets will go on sale in November.

2011 Indoor Track and Field Schedule
Day  Date  Meet  Location
Sat.  Jan. 15  UW Indoor Preview  Seattle, Wash.
Fri.–Sat.  Jan. 28–29  UW Invitational  Seattle, Wash.
Fri.–Sat.  Feb. 11–12  Husky Classic  Seattle, Wash.
Fri.–Sat.  Feb. 11–12  Tyson Invitational  Fayetteville, Ark.
Fri.–Sat.  Feb. 25–26  Mountain Pacific Championships  Seattle, Wash.
Sat.  March 5  UW Last Chance Qualifier  Seattle, Wash.
Fri.–Sat.  March 11–12  NCAA Indoor Championships  College Station, Texas

2011 Outdoor Track and Field Schedule
Day  Date  Meet  Location
Sat.  March 19  Oregon Preview  Eugene, Ore.
Fri.–Sat.  March 25–26  Stanford Invitational  Stanford, Calif.
Sat.  April 9  Pepsi Team Invitational (Oregon, Nebraska, Stanford, Washington)  Eugene, Ore.
Wed.–Thurs.  April 13–14  Mt. SAC Relays Multi Events  Azusa, Calif.
Thurs.–Sat.  April 14–16  Mt. SAC Relays  Walnut, Calif.
Sun.  April 17  Men of Oregon vs. UCLA  Los Angeles, Calif.
Fri.–Sat.  April 22-23  Oregon Relays Presented by Oregon Community Credit Union  Eugene, Ore.                  
Thurs.–Sat.  April 28–30  Penn Relays  Philadelphia, Pa.
Sat.  April 30  Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational  Stanford, Calif.
Fri.  May 6  Oregon Twilight   Eugene, Ore.
Fri.-Sat.  May 6–7  Pac-10 Conference Heptathlon/Decathlon  Tucson, Ariz.
Fri.–Sat.  May 13–14  Pac-10 Conference Championships  Tucson, Ariz.
Thurs.–Sat.  May 26–28  NCAA West Preliminary Rounds  Eugene, Ore.
Wed.–Sat.  June 8–11  NCAA Outdoor Championships  Des Moines, Iowa
Wed.–Sun.  June 23–26  USA World Championships Trials  Eugene, Ore.
Wed.–Sun.  June 23–26  USA Junior National Championships  Eugene, Ore.


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