|
by John Dye
BALTIMORE MD 12/6/01 - We've been trying to ignore it, but indoor
season is knocking at the door. The first major meet of the season,
the Bishop Loughlin Games, is December 15 at the New York Armory,
just one week after cross country ends with the Foot Locker finals
in Florida.
This could be called Amtrak season. Many of the season's biggest
attractions are accessible by Amtrak in the Eastern Seaboard arc
served by the Acela Regional train -- from Boston's Reggie Lewis
Center on the north to the new Prince George's Sportsplex in Maryland
on the south. In the center of the entire season is the New York
Armory, with 85 meets again, including one that already tipped off
10 days ago.
New facilities are spawning new meets, such as Chris Lester's Midwest
Indoor Track Classic at the University of Nebraska February 9. The
University of North Carolina will sponsor a high school meet February
--- in its new indoor facility, which will also host the ACC college
championships. The PG Sportsplex, next to the Washington Redskins
playpen outside of Washington DC, will have a bigger platter with
the closing of the Baltimore Armory for repairs; included is the
new Montgomery Invitational on January 12, which has earned Millrose
Games mile qualifier status.
Simplot Games - the J. R. Simplot company's massive gift to the
sport -- will have its 24th running in Pocatello ID, just north
of the Winter Olympics festivities in Utah. (February 16)
LA Invitational - hopefully on again this year after missing last
year due to sponsorship troubles. (February 23)
The Millrose Games will again give preps a stage at Madison Square
Garden with the invitational mile and relays. (February 1)
Due to the lack of major public facilities except for Boston, New
York and Maryland, colleges play an important role, with a new wave
of construction (Nebraska, North Carolina, Arkansas, Penn State,
and Tennessee for example). Older facilities will continue yeoman
duty at Seton Hall, Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Princeton,
and Viginia Tech.
Meets that we know about are on the DyeStat
Calendar. Send us information on other meets by email to John
Dye at [email protected].
DyeStat US
|
