Track And Field Opens Outdoor Season This Weekend

Friday, March 16

Memphis, Tenn.

2 pm

University of Memphis

Rhodes College Invitational

Jordan Wesner, 2017-18 Men's Track and Field

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 15, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Tigers to compete in Rhodes College Invitational.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – So much for down time. Just three weeks ago, the University of Memphis track and field squads wrapped up their indoor campaign at the American Athletic Conference Championships.

This weekend, the Tigers are back at it with their outdoor season opener at the Rhodes College Invitational. The action starts Friday at 2 p.m. (CT) with the field events, and the running events follow at 5:30 p.m. (CT). On Saturday, the field events kick off at 9:30 a.m. (CT), and the running events at 11 a.m. (CT) on a rolling schedule.

Head Coach Kevin Robinson on the Rhodes Invitational
"The team is excited. We're coming off a solid indoor campaign, and now, we're stepping to the outdoor season where we believe we're a little more competitive. We're eager to make the transition. I feel we can do some really good things in the outdoor season. Our focus is to stay healthy and motivated, and if we can do that – along with getting some good weather – we'll be alright.

"We've been training hard this week with the athletes returning from spring break. We're not training to put up huge performances in our early meets. We're training for the championship season and trying to put together a championship contender in May. But, that's not going to happen this weekend. It takes time to build.

"This weekend at Rhodes, if the weather and conditions permit, we'll put up some pretty good marks. I'm cautiously optimistic about this outdoor season. We have to step up and do what we are capable of doing."

Tigers Tidbits/Five "What To Watch For":

Home Sweet Home?: Not really. However, for the third time in the last four seasons, the Tigers track and field squads only travel five miles across the Bluff City to Rhodes College to open their outdoor season. Memphis also began its outdoor seasons in 2015 and 2017 at the Rhodes College Invitational.
Last Year At The Rhodes: Memphis had a solid start to its 2017 outdoor season at last year's Rhodes College Invitational. The Tigers posted 21 top-three performances, including three first-place finishes. Among those first-place finishes was a sweep of the men's (Michael Criticos) and women's (Ashley Pryke) javelin crowns.
Javelin Jubilation: Head coach Kevin Robinson, who also serves as the program's throws coach, has to be happy with the return of his two javelin All-Americans in Michael Criticos and Ashley Pryke. Both advanced to the 2017 NCAA Championships, with Pryke placing third in the women's event and Criticos 13^th in the men's. Both also hold the school records in the men's (Criticos) and women's (Pryke) javelin. In 2017, Criticos won six javelin titles, and Pryke took eight crowns.
The Return of Rodriguez Sala: The Tigers distance unit receives a jolt of experience this outdoor campaign with the return of Martina Rodriguez Sala. The Memphis graduate student did not compete in the 2017 outdoor season after winning the American Athletic Conference indoor mile championship. Rodriguez Sala, who holds the school record in the outdoor 1500 meters, just missed advancing to the NCAA Championships in the event in 2016. She placed 13^th in the 1500 meters at the 2016 NCAA East Preliminaries.
Returning Record-Setters: Overall, the Tigers have six athletes that own school records on their 2018 outdoor rosters. The record holders are Davon DeMoss (men's 100 meters/2017), Jordan Wesner (men's high jump/2017), Michael Criticos (men's javelin/2016), Cera Chavez (women's 200 meters/2017), Martina Rodriguez Sala (women's 1500 meters/2016) and Ashley Pryke (women's javelin/2017).