Tigers Track And Field At Music City Challenge This Weekend

Friday, February 10

Nashville, Tenn.

University of Memphis

Music City Challenge

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Tigers Track And Field At Music City Challenge This Weekend

Feb 09, 2017 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final prep for several athletes before AAC Championships in two weeks.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For the third time this indoor season, the University of Memphis track and field squads travel three hours east on I-40 to compete in a Vanderbilt University-hosted meet in Nashville, Tenn., this weekend.

Vanderbilt is hosting the 2017 Music City Challenge Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11. Memphis also competed in the Dec. 3 Vanderbilt Opener and Jan. 20-21 Vanderbilt Invitational.

Friday's action starts at 4 p.m. (CT) with field events, and running events follow at 7 p.m. (CT). The meet continues Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).

Robinson on the Music City Challenge:
"This meet is our conference championships preview. This is the last shot before we head to The American Championships in two weeks. We're taking a smaller group to Nashville, a group that is more reflective of the one we'll take to the conference championships.

"This meet will be the most highly-competitive meet we'll see all season. Since Vanderbilt is hosting the SEC Championships in a couple of weeks, this meet is drawing a lot of top teams from across the country. This weekend will be a test for us mentally and competitively. We'll use this meet as a gauge on how well we're prepared for the conference championships.

"This weekend, I'm also looking at team unity – how much we get behind and support each other. All we need are a couple of good performances early to get that ball rolling. Once we get that momentum going, we can be really successful."

The following is this weekend's meet information:

Team Scoring:
The 2017 Music City Challenge is a non-scoring team meet.

Competing Schools:
Belmont, Cincinnati, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, SMU, Tennessee State, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky

Tigers Tidbits/Five "What To Watch For":

Last chance: For nearly three-quarters of the squad, this weekend's Music City Challenge is the final prep for the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships in two weeks (Feb. 24-25). This is the last meet before the conference championships for the distance runners and a majority of the team's short/long sprinters and hurdlers. Some field athletes will compete in the Feb. 18 Redhawks Invitational.
Going for the record: On Friday, the Memphis men's distance medley relay (DMR) is attempting to set a record time in the event. LaForrest Church, Matthew Viveiros and Matthew Kamph are running three of the relay's four legs. The 400m leg runner is yet to be decided. The Tigers DMR record is 9:59.30 set in 1980. In head coach Kevin Robinson's tenure (2006-present), 20 school indoor records have been set (men/women combined).
Relay spots up for grabs: As for relays, this weekend's Music City Challenge is the final opportunity to earn spots for the Feb. 24-25 American Athletic Conference Championships. According to head coach Kevin Robinson, the competition for those spots has been intense throughout the indoor campaign.
Return to the record site: Although not running in the women's 3000m this weekend, Martina Rordriguez Sala set the Tigers school record in the event at last year's Music City Challenge. In fact, her 3000m time of 9:34.63 shattered the previous record by over 13 seconds (9:47.70). On Saturday, Rodriguez Sala runs in the women's mile – an event in which she also holds the school record.
Looking for another 800m win: LaForrest Church, who holds the school record in the men's 800m, attempts another title run in the event at Vanderbilt. The last two indoor seasons (2015-16, 2016-17), Church has run in the men's 800m at Vanderbilt-hosted meets four times, winning three crowns.