TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State track and field team announced the schedule for their 2016 campaign on Wednesday, and is highlighted by three home meets in the outdoor season starting in March.
Head coach Greg Kraft -- now entering his 20th season at ASU -- and the Sun Devils kick off the indoor season on Jan. 16 at the Lumberjack Team Challenge in Flagstaff, Ariz.
"We look forward ot our indoor season," Kraft said. "Obviously we always start our indoor season with a low-key event and this year will be no different.
"From there we get our first real evaluation of our team when we go down to the Texas A&M Team Invitational. We've done this for quite a while now."
The Aggies' head track and field coach Pat Henry typically brings in some of the top teams in the country for the annual event, and coach Kraft likes using that level of competition for his athletes right out of the gate.
"It gives you a realistic evaluation of where your team is," Kraft said. "Some people like building through it, but its kind of like football -- the more you know about your team the earlier, the more time you have to correct that and get people's attention."
The Sun Devils will make a new appearance at the Husker Invitational at the University of Nebraska on Feb. 5-6, where Kraft says he looks forward to experiencing a new event hosted by the winningest coach in Big 12 history Gary Pepin. Pepin has coached the Huskers' track and field team for 36 years.
"The following weekend is a weekend where you really have to get busy from a National Championship perspective," Kraft said. "You're four weeks out from NCAA's so that will be the first and only split weekend we'll have."
The distance runners will split off from the rest of the team, as they head for the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. from Feb. 12-13. The rest of the Sun Devils trek to New Mexico for the annual Don Kirby Invitational on Feb. 13, where Kraft expects his sprinters, jumpers and throwers to perform well.
ASU will then head for colder weather where the indoor season gets its purpose for the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Feb. 19-20.
The Sun Devils will then have a week to prepare for arguably their most important meet of the season outside of NCAA's at the MPSF Indoor Championships in Seattle, Wash. on Feb. 26-27.
"It's really blossomed into one of the bigger meets of the indoor season," Kraft said. "It's not the best venue, but it's a situation where you get that many quality teams together then that equates to a lot of quality student athletes so good things can happen as we prepare for the National Championships in Birmingham, Ala."
NCAA Championships will be hosted by Samford University on March 11-12.
Fans will have five other opportunities to see the Sun Devils locally during the indoor season, as they participate in two meets at Paradise Valley Community College and three other meets in Flagstaff, Ariz.
For the outdoor season, the Devils will open up with the Baldy Castillo Invitational on March 18-19, which typically include traditional schools like Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
"The second weekend, our coach Jeremy Rasmussen has done a wonderful job creating this Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, and so we look forward to that," Kraft said. "We'll have Arizona, Cal and Washington representing the Pac-12, and Nebraska, Indiana, Penn State and Michigan representing the Big Ten.
"It's so difficult to qualify for nationals and to have a dual meet -- or tri-meet -- with so many events outdoors you just don't quite get enough depth of competition in the events. So you need six to eight teams and the teams that come in for this are from a Power-5 conference and are balanced programs."
The Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge will be hosted at Sun Angel Stadium on March 25-26, followed by another home meet with the Sun Angel Classic on April 7-9. The distance runners will attempt to get a regional qualifying time in between those weekends at the Stanford Invite on April 2.
The rest of their four month season features trips to Palo Alto, Calif. for the Chula Vista Olympic Invitational on April 21-22 and the Triton Invitational for the throwers and pole vaulters in San Diego, Calif. on April 22-23.
"We'll head to Tucson for the Dual in the Desert which has always been a great preview for us as we head into the Pac-12 Championships," Kraft said. "Coach (Fred) Harvey has always had an outstanding team down at the UofA, so when we meet our student-athletes know what's at stake."
The Pac-12 Championships take place on May 7-8 for multis and May 14-15 in Seattle, Wash.
"Then we'll have our regional meet for the first time ever as far as I've known in Lawrence, Kansas. As always it seems that we pick a regional site that makes it a little bit difficult weather wise with lightning delays. Austin, Fayetteville, and Lawrence, Kansas -- looks like we have that trifecta on the potential for a challenging environment for the NCAA Regional."
The NCAA West Regional will be hosted by Kansas University from May 26-28. Two weeks later, Oregon hosts the NCAA Championships from June 8-11.
The USATF Junior Championships will be on June 24-25 and the U.S. Olympic Trials will be back in Eugene, Ore. from July 1-11.
Complete Schedule:January—Indoor
16—Lumberjack Team Challenge @ Flagstaff, Ariz.
23—Texas A&M Invitational @ College Station, TX
23---PVCC Invitational @ Paradise Valley CC
29-30---Mt. T's Invitational @ Flagstaff, Ariz.
23-30---PVCC All-Comers @ Paradise Valley CC
February—Indoor
5-6—Husker Invitational @ Lincoln, Neb.
12-13—Husky Classic @ Seattle, Wash.
12-13---NAU Invitational @ Flagstaff, Ariz.
13—Kirby Invitational @ Albuquerque, NM
19---NAU Tune-Up @ Flagstaff, Ariz.
19-20---Alex Wilson Invitational @ South Bend, Ind.
26-27---MPSF Championship @ Seattle, Wash.
March—Indoor/Outdoor
11-12—NCAA Indoor Championships @ Birmingham, Ala.
18-19---Baldy Castillo Invitational @ Sun Angel Stadium
24---PVCC Invitational @ Paradise Valley CC
24-25---Jim Click Multis @ Tucson, Ariz.
25-26---Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge @ Sun Angel Stadium
April—Outdoor
2—Stanford Invitational @ Palo Alto, Calif.
7-9—Sun Angel Classic @ Sun Angel Stadium
8---Mesa Classic @ Mesa CC
14-16—Mt. Sac Relays @ Cerritos, Calif.
15-16---APU/Bryan Clay Invitational @ Azuza Pacific, Calif.
21-22---Chula Vista Olympic Invitational @ Chula Vista, Calif.
22-23—Triton Invitational @ San Diego, Calif.
30---Dual in the Desert @ Tucson, Ariz.
May—Outdoor
7—Oxy Invitational @ Pasadena, Calif.
7-8—Pac-12 Multi @ Seattle, Wash.
14-15—Pac-12 Championship @ Seattle, Wash.
20-21—Tucson Elite @ Tucson, Ariz.
26-28—NCAA West Regional @ Lawrence, Kansas
June—Outdoor
8-11—NCAA Championships @ Eugene, Ore.
24-25---USATF Junior Championships @ TBA
July---Outdoor
1-11---U.S. Olympic Trials @ Eugene, Ore.