HPU Track & Field Releases 2015-16 Schedule

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s and women’s track & field teams have released their 2015-16 schedule, highlighted by April’s VertKlasse Meeting inside Vert Stadium.

2015-16 Track & Field Schedule

HPU hosts a trio of home meets in 2016, including the HPU Team Challenge at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem on February 11, as well as the Big South Quad Meet on April 15 in Vert Stadium. The renowned VertKlasse Meeting will take place April 1-2 on campus.

HPU opens the indoor season with a trio of meets at the JDL Fast Track. The events include the JDL Kickoff Classic (December 5), the Wake Forest Invitational (Jan. 16) and the JDL Combined Events (Jan. 16-17).

High Point will send its elite competitors to the Penn State National Invite on Jan. 29-30, while the majority of the team will head to Blacksburg, Va., to compete in the Virginia Tech Invitational Feb. 19-20. That event will prep the Panthers for the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held in Blacksburg Feb. 26-27.

“The indoor schedule is exciting because we have a scored meet that we’re hosting,” head coach Mike Esposito said. “That’s really important as we pursue more scored meets to make them more relevant to the public and fans. We’re also excited about going back to Penn State. It’s a heavy recruiting area for us and it allows a lot of our parents to watch. And we’re excited about competing at a strong Virginia Tech meet leading up to the indoor conference meet.”

HPU opens outdoor season competition March 18-19 at the Wake Forest Open in Winston-Salem.

HPU’s elite distance runners and field athletes will look to post NCAA Preliminary marks at the Raleigh Relays March 25-26 on the campus of North Carolina State.

After the VertKlasse Meeting and Big South Quad Meet, HPU will compete locally at the Duke Invitational (April 22-23) in Durham and the Mountaineer Invite (April 30) in Boone.

Liberty will host the 2016 Big South Outdoor Championships, which will be held May 10-12 in Lynchburg, Va.

“During the outdoor schedule, we’re excited to host two meets and compete in two scored meets,” Esposito said. “At ECU, we’ll be competing against teams from the AAC and SEC. There’s also an opportunity to add additional events to help some of our elite athletes earn marks and times necessary to earn berths in NCAA competition.”

The NCAA Preliminary is scheduled for May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., while the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships are June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.