QU Women’s Indoor Track & Field Announces 2016-17 Schedule, Opens on Saturday at Yale

QU Women’s Indoor Track & Field Announces 2016-17 Schedule, Opens on Saturday at Yale

12/9/2016 12:29:00 PM | Women's Indoor Track & Field

Bobcats Look to Build Off Program's Best Season in 2015-16

By: QU Sports Information

2016-17 SCHEDULE

HAMDEN, Connecticut – Quinnipiac women's indoor track and field head coach Carolyn Martin has officially announced the Bobcats' 2016-17 schedule which opens on Saturday at the Yale Season Opener from Coxe Cage in New Haven. The Bobcats' indoor campaign is largely a two-month schedule beginning in mid-January and running through early March – with a light season-opening meet on tap this weekend at Yale.

Quinnipiac opens at the Yale Season Opener with competition set to begin at 9 AM with the shot put event. Several teams from around the region flock to Yale for the first taste of the 2016-17 season including Hartford, CCSU, New Haven, Sacred Heart and Southern Connecticut State among others. A host of then-freshmen dominated the day for the Bobcats in last year's appearance at the Yale Season Opener highlighted by Carly Timpson's victory in the high jump and Alyson Caron taking home the 800m title.

Rather than compete in two events before the University's winter break, this year the Bobcats will compete in only the Yale Season Opener before taking an extended month-long break that will last until Jan. 14 when Quinnipiac travels to Staten Island for the Great Dane Invitational. Held at the newly-constructed Ocean Breeze Complex, Jessica Lee helped lead the Bobcats to an eighth place finish in the 2015-16 season with her third place finish in the 60m hurdles.

A new wrinkle in this year's schedule comes on Jan. 21 as a new meet – the Sorlien Invitational – has been added in for the 2016-17 slate. Held at the Mackal Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Rhode Island, Quinnipiac will be making their first-ever appearance in the meet.

A crowded stretch of meet lingers for the Bobcats as a trip to Boston for the Terrier Invite looms on Jan. 27 before the team will split for appearances in the Armory Track Invite and Giegengack Invitational across Feb. 3-4. Ten different personal-bests were broken by Bobcat competitors in seven different events (200m, 400m, 500m, 1000m, 3000m, 5000m, shot put) at the Terrier Invite in Boston. Three Bobcats – Lee (100m hurdles), Kaleigh Roberts (1000m) and Tracy Campbell (one mile) – picked up individual victories in last season's Giegengack Invitational while Caron, Roberts, Cori Reid and Kristen Ulrich set a program record in the distance medley relay.

One of the most important meets in the season in the lead-up to the championship season looms on Feb. 10-11 as Quinnipiac will compete in the Valentine Invitational held at Boston University. The popular meet draws in competition from all across the eastern region and fields some of the toughest competition the Bobcats will face all season.

For the first time, the MAAC Championships will be a two-day event as in previous seasons the championship meet was held in one day. The biggest meet of the season for the Bobcats will be held on Feb. 18-19 as Quinnipiac is coming off a thrilling second place finish in 2015-16 that goes down as a program record finish in a conference championship meet. Quinnipiac took down a meet-high seven event victories – Timpson (weight throw), Lee (60m hurdles), Roberts (one mile, 3000m), Shameal Samuels (200m, 400m) and Emily Wolff (5000m) – while Timpson was named the MAAC's Co-Most Outstanding Field Performer.

The championship season continues the following weekend at the New England Championships from Feb. 24-25 held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. Lee made history last season as she became the program's first hurdler to be named a New England Champion as she won the 60m hurdles title in thrilling fashion as the final margin was separated by just 0.12 seconds. As a team, Quinnipiac compiled 20 points over the 2015-16 New England Championships to take 12^th place.

Another regional championship looms next as the Bobcats will travel back up to Boston University for the ECAC Championships from March 4-5. The meet drawing over 100 teams from across the Atlantic Coast was another success for the Bobcats in 2015-16 as Quinnipiac compiled a program record eight points as a team highlighted by a fifth place finish from Samuels in the 400m and Wolff placing sixth in the 5000m.

Quinnipiac looks to field a competitor in the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history which will be held on the campus of Texas A&M from March 10-11.