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2003
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DONNA ON THE SIDE
at the Great Southwest THE MEET. Founded in 1928 but closed during the depression years, the Great Southwest Classic (GSW) is celebrating its 28th renewal. In the beginning, college recruiting was quite different. There was no Internet nor DyeStat to learn about top performances and athletes. Instead, coaches and scouts used meets to learn about athletes and judge their talent and potential. The GSW was founded for the purpose of providing coaches and scouts with one of the "windows" to see outstanding talent in the Southwestern states. The meet started as a postseason invitational for athletes from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In 1933, organizers had to close the meet. In 1978, it was revived but replacing Texas with Utah. GSW now includes athletes from seven states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. The format for the meet is a "go for broke" competition--no heats, no trials, no team score pressures. The meet proudly reports that many of their participants receive scholarships and go on to Olympic Games, Olympic Trials, NCAA Championships. THE PLACE. Home for the GWS is the University of New Mexico Track & Field Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque was founded in 1706 on the banks of the Rio Grande River It was named after a small village in Spain called Alburquerque. Through the years the spelling of Albuquerque ended up with one less r to its present day spelling. There are many faces and cultures of Albuquerque and New Mexico including Indian, Spanish and Anglo. The city embraces old west history, distinctive architecture, leading edge science and technology. There are hot air balloons, chile peppers, adobes, Sandia mountains and tram, indians and pottery. An hour's drive north is Santa Fe, with arts and crafts galore.
Now onto the 2003 GWS!
DONNA ON THE SIDE
at the Great Southwest
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