T&F Announces 19-20 Schedule

NORMAN – University of Oklahoma track and field interim head coach Tim Langford and vice president and director of athletics Joe Castiglione announced Friday the 2019-20 OU indoor and outdoor track schedule.

Highlighted by two home meets and an early start to the season in Manhattan, Kan., the Sooners will compete across the country in 2020.

The Sooners will start the indoor slate next month at Kansas State for the K-State Winter Invitational on Dec. 14 before taking a month off before the next indoor meet on Jan. 17-18 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Vanderbilt Invitational.

"Getting things going with our first meet in December really kind of tells us what we've done all fall," said Langford. "It will be a good measure of where we are. It's an early enough measure to correct anything or to affirm that we're doing the right thing."

"I'm really excited about what we've done with the schedule. I think we set our kids up for success, providing a lot of competitive opportunities for them, especially when you start competing in December." - Tim Langford

OU will compete five weeks in a row from Jan. 17 through Valentine's Day weekend, traveling to Lincoln, Neb. (Mark Colligan Memorial), Fayetteville, Ark. (Razorback Invite), returning home to host the J.D. Martin Invitational and finishing the indoor regular season back in Arkansas at the Tyson Invite.

The 2020 Big 12 Indoor Championships will be held in Ames, Iowa, on the campus of Iowa State for the second time in three years. At last year's Big 12 indoor meet, OU then-junior Meia Gordon brought home the shot put title and the Sooners secured five runner-up finishes.

Following indoor Big 12s, there will be an off weekend in preparation for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

Oklahoma will open the outdoor season in Tempe, Ariz., at the Baldy Castillo Invite before a quick turnaround to compete at the 93rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. At last season's Texas Relays, Gordon won her third shot put title of the season.

"Going to the outdoor schedule, we're excited about going to Arizona for spring break and I think that's going to be a phenomenal meet," continued Langford. "The Texas Relays are always a premiere event in track and field so to be part of that, and to be more of a presence this year, it's going to be important for us."

Following Texas Relays, OU will compete in the state of Texas four of the next five weeks for the Baylor Invite (April 4), North Texas Classic (April 11), Texas A&M Alumni Muster (April 25) and the Texas Invite (May 1-2).

OU's second and final home meet of 2020, the 51st annual John Jacobs Invitational, will be April 17-18 at John Jacobs Track and Field Complex in Norman. Last season's John Jacobs Invite saw 18 Sooner event victories, including the men's 4x1 running the seventh-fastest 4x100-meter relay in school history (39.42).

"The outdoor meet that we're hosting, in terms of our offerings and being able to provide more energy for our home meets, it's going to be important for the home crowd," said Langford. "There's not a lot of opportunities that the student-athletes' friends and parents get to see us at home so I'm really looking forward to make that as positive of an experience we can."

The 2020 Big 12 Outdoor Championships will be held on K-State's newly-renovated R.V. Christian Track, May 15-17. OU hosted last year's Big 12 outdoor meet, where then-senior Sarah Scott claimed her second consecutive Big 12 title in the women's steeplechase and sophomore Cooper Campbell threw an OU school record in the men's shot put. OU's women's squad placed third at the meet, while the men took sixth.

The Sooners will travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the NCAA West Regional May 28-30 at the University of Kansas. Qualifying athletes will compete at the 2020 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, June 10-13. Last season's NCAA Outdoors saw the Sooners bring home six All-America honors.

"We put all the important meets in the right places and the off weekends in the right places," concluded the first-year Sooners' coach. "It just sets us up for success and the only thing that's left is just to get the athletes there and give them an opportunity and see what they can do."

For updates and more information on Oklahoma track and field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.

2019-20 Track and Field Schedule
Date	Meet	Location
Indoor
Dec. 14	K-State Winter Invitational	Manhattan, Kan.
Jan. 17-18	Vanderbilt Invitational	Nashville, Tenn.
Jan. 25	Mark Colligan Memorial	Lincoln, Neb.
Jan. 31-Feb. 1	Razorback Invitational	Fayetteville, Ark.
Feb. 8	J.D. Martin Invitational	Norman, Okla.
Feb. 14-15	Tyson Invitational	Fayetteville, Ark.
Feb. 28-29	Big 12 Indoor Championships	Ames, Iowa
March 13-14	NCAA Indoor Championships	Albuquerque, N.M.
Outdoor
March 20-21	Baldy Castillo Invitational	Tempe, Ariz.
March 25-28	Texas Relays	Austin, Texas
April 4	Baylor Invitational	Waco, Texas
April 11	North Texas Classic	Denton, Texas
April 17-18	John Jacobs Invitational	Norman, Okla.
April 25	Texas A&M Alumni Muster	College Station, Texas
May 1-2	Texas Invitational	Austin, Texas
May 15-17	Big 12 Outdoor Championships	Manhattan, Kan.
May 28-30	NCAA West Regional	Lawrence, Kan.
June 10-13	NCAA Outdoor Championships	Austin, Texas