TEMPE – With the start of the NCAA indoor track and field season less than two months away, the Arizona State Sun Devil track and field program has released its 2018 schedule, complete with three home meets in the spring and another seven meets in the Grand Canyon State alone, director of track and field
Greg Kraft announced Tuesday.
The Devils make their indoor debuts just a few hours north of the Valley at the NAU Friday Night Duals on Jan. 12, then head to the Texas A&M Invitational the following weekend before returning to the Tempe area for the PVCC Indoor in Paradise Valley.
The shortest month will be a long one for ASU as the squads will go to seven meets in February. The weekend of Feb. 9-10 will be the busiest weekend of the indoor season for the Devils with three meets scheduled for that weekend, including the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock and Don Kirby Elite in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A week before ASU takes on the 15-team men's field and 18-team women's field at the MPSF Championships Feb. 23-24, Kraft's squads split up again for the Northern Arizona Tune-Up and Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
At last season's MPSF Championships, the Sun Devil men finished fifth and the women took sixth, both besting the University of Arizona for the fifth consecutive year.
The indoor season's grand finale will be the NCAA Indoor Championships March 9-10 hosted for the second time in as many years by the Aggies of Texas A&M.
Just six days separate the end of the indoor season and the start of the outdoor season for the Devils in 2018. ASU hosts the Baldy Castillo Invitational at Sun Angel Stadium March 16-17.
One week later, Sun Angel Stadium plays host to the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, and the Sun Angel Classic April 6-7 will be the third and final home meet for ASU in 2018.
The Stanford Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays highlight a hectic April that includes seven events, all in either Arizona or California.
ASU will return to the Pac-12 Championships this season with just two returning conference champions, but four titles between them. Maggie Ewen (hammer, discus, shot put) and Matt Eckles (pole vault) lead the Devils into Palo Alto, seeking to defend their crowns and top the Wildcats on both sides of the competition for the second year in-a-row.
Those who put up the marks will move on to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento, California, to qualify for a place at June's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The detailed schedule will be up on thesundevils.com soon. The complete schedule is available below.
| Jan. 12 |
NAU Friday Night Duals |
| Jan. 20 |
Texas A&M Team Invitational |
| Jan. 27 |
PVCC Indoor |
| Feb. 2-3 |
Husker Invitational |
| Feb. 9-10 |
Iowa State Classic |
| Feb. 9-10 |
Texas Tech Invitational |
| Feb. 10 |
Don Kirby Elite |
| Feb. 16 |
NAU Tune-Up |
| Feb. 16-17 |
Alex Wilson Invitational |
| Feb. 23-24 |
MPSF Championships |
| March 9-10 |
NCAA Indoor Championships |
| March 16-17 |
Baldy Castillo Invitational |
| March 22 |
Distance in the Dark |
| March 23-24 |
Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge |
| March 30-31 |
Stanford Invitational |
| April 5-6 |
Jim Click Multis |
| April 6-7 |
Sun Angel Classic |
| April 13-14 |
Triton Invitational |
| April 19-20 |
Bryan Clay Invitational |
| April 19-21 |
Mt. SAC Relays |
| April 20-21 |
Beach Classic |
| April 28 |
Desert Heat Classic |
| May 5 |
Oxy Classic |
| May 5-6/12-13 |
Pac-12 Multis/Pac-12 Championships |
| May 19-20 |
Tucson Elite |
| May 24-26 |
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds |
| June 6-9 |
NCAA Outdoor Championships |
