The weekend of Jaunary 24 - 26

It's a little early yet for the Banana Belt Classic, but Nick Meihaus gets to pole vault in his hometown on Sunday nevertheless. Photo by Alan Versaw.

It's Thursday, and that can only mean there's a busy weekend of track and field action ahead of us. In fact, the action actually begins today with the multis competition at the Air Force Academy. Here's a closer look at all the weekend promises:

01/23 -
01/25

Air Force Invitational

Preview: Multis on Thursday and Friday. Prelims and some finals on Friday. All finals on Saturday. Teams on the list to be there include UNLV, Fresno State, Wyoming, Colorado, Northern Colorado, Air Force, Utah Valley, Colorado State, Brigham Young, CSU-Pueblo, Metro State, Colorado Mines, Western State, New Mexico Highlands, Colorado Mesa, and St. Johns. That's not to say each of these schools is bringing a full team, but you can still figure that bleacher space will be at a premium for this one. We still have yet to see anything from the distance runners at Colorado and Colorado State; will this be the opening act?

START LISTS

RESULTS

Air Force Academy
USAFA, CO
01/24 -
01/25

Cherry and Silver Invitational (College)

Preview: A couple Colorado programs that aren't headed to Air Force are headed to Albuquerque. It appears Adams State, CSU-Pueblo, and UCCS are on the list, but lists con sometimes be deceiving.

University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
01/24 -
01/25

Jacksons Invitational/New Balance Boise Indoor

Preview: The high school portion of this meet will be pulling in a couple of Colorado's top-ranked indoor athletes. If Hannah Cunliffe shows up as well, we could have a barn-burner of a 60 meter dash.

Chyna Ries (60m, 7.62) and Maya Ries (60h, 9.14) advance to Saturday's finals in those events. The sisters appear to be the only Colorado athletes at this meet.

RESULTS

Boise State University
Boise, ID
01/25

Duke City All-Comers (HS, Open)

Preview: There won't be as many from Colorado down in Albuquerque this weekend as last, but a quick check of the entries does show several Colorado entries have laid their money down. For those who don't quite understand the scenario here, UNM hosts college/open meets during daylight hours on Saturday, then the high schoolers take over from 6 - 9 PM. It's all at the Albuquerque Convention Center, and the track is fast.

START LISTS

University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
01/25

Tony Wells Memorial Indoor Invitational

Preview: This week's main USATF club competition is back in Balch. The legacy of Tony Wells as a sprint coach will live on a good, long time, and this meet helps to keep that legacy front and center in the minds of a lot of folks.

 
Boulder, CO
01/26

USATF Colorado Indoor Pole Vault Championships

Preview: Pole vaulting doesn't work so well in Balch Field House. We could unpack the meaning of that statement a little here, but we won't. All you really need to know is that they'll be contesting an indoor pole vault state championship at the State Fairgrounds in Pueblo on Sunday. That, however, is not the same as saying that the pole vaulters are done for the winter after this meet. Following this meet, look for them next at the Air Force High School Indoor Open, unless I've missed something coming up on the weekend of February 1.

 
Pueblo, CO

Colorado Track XC will be on-site with coverage at the Air Force Invitational on Saturday (and maybe a little of Friday) and at the Pole Vault Championships on Sunday. Owing to the success of the MLK MIle-High Faves article earlier this week, I'll be following a similar pattern for this weekend--taking the best shots from a meet, uploading them into a premium-content album article, and leaving the other shots in an open album attached to the meet page. I do not promise I'll be following that pattern during the outdoor season, but I want to watch a little more how this set-up works out.