Oct. 20, 2008

2009 Indoor & Outdoor Track Schedule

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina head coach Dennis Craddock released his 2009 schedule this week and it is a slate that will feature a number of tests for the Tar Heels along with eight meets during the season at the Eddie Smith Field House and Belk Track. The Tar Heels will open the 2009 season on January 10 in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heel Invitational.

Following the opening weekend at home, Carolina will make the trip to State College, Pa. to take part in the Penn State Open (Jan. 17) before hosting the UNC Classic (Jan. 24) and Carolina Classic in consecutive weekends (Jan. 30-31). The Carolina Classic will be the first meet of the year that will feature two days of action with action beginning on Friday before wrapping up with a full day on Saturday.

To begin the month of February the Tar Heels will make their annual trip to New York City to partake in the Armory Invitational which will be the 100th anniversary of the historic Armory building. The meet will feature a commemoration to Carolina's 2003 Indoor Distance Medley Relay team of Erin Donohue, Alice Schmidt, Anissa Gainey and Shalane Flanagan who set a world record during the meet and ranks in the top events in the building. After the Tar Heels two-day stop in New York the majority of the team will compete in the Carolina Invitational in the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse, while select athletes will make the trek to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Tyson Invitational the weekend of Feb. 13-14.

Carolina will then make a pre-ACCs trip to Blacksburg, Va. for a meet hosted by Virginia Tech (Feb. 20-21) before partaking in the ACC Indoor Championships back in Blacksburg the very next weekend. In the week between ACCs and NCAAs the Tar Heels will travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Alex Wilson Invitational for some last-chance qualifying before the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 13-14) hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

To open the outdoor season Carolina will head to Conway, S.C. for a two-day meet March 20-21 before competing in the Raleigh Relays March 27-28. The weekend of April 2-4 will see the Carolina blue all over the country as a group of athletes will compete at the nearby Duke Invitational Friday and Saturday. Another group will head to Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays being held Thursday through Sunday, while the multi-athletes will head North to Lynchburg, Va. for the Liberty Multi on Friday and Saturday. Another group of athletes will head to North Carolina A&T for a one-day meet on Saturday, April 4.

The home opener during the outdoor season will take place on April 11 when the Belk Track plays host to the UNC Invitational prior to Carolina and the other members of the Atlantic Coast Conference heading to South Beach for the ACC Outdoor Championships hosted by Miami. The next weekend Carolina will head to Philadelphia, Pa. for the prestigious Penn Relays set to run from April 23-25.

Carolina will then have its traditional weekend off for final exams for the semester. The next weekend Carolina will host the UNC Elite Meet on Friday, May 8 leading into one of the busier weeks on the outdoor schedule. Tuesday and Wednesday will see the multi-athletes head to Winston-Salem for the Deacon Combined Events meet on May 12-13. A group of athletes will compete at Georgia Tech on May 15 & 16 before closing out the weekend with the a few athletes competing at North Carolina A&T, while also hosting a one-day meet the Carolina Classic on May 17 in a weekend that will see a number of teams searching for qualifying times for NCAAs.

North Carolina A&T will play host to the NCAA Regional Championships set to run May 29 and 30 in Greensboro, N.C. before the week break prior to the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships hosted by Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Tar Heel men finished the indoor season with a fourth-place finish at the ACC Indoor Championships prior to a tie for 38th at the NCAA Indoor Championships. During the outdoor season the Carolina men finished fifth at the ACC Outdoor Championships before a place showing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The women are coming off a tie for second and a third place showing in the ACC Championships. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels placed 21st and tied for 46th during the NCAA Championships.