Track And Field Preview: Joey Haines Invitational – Memphis Official Athletic Site

Live Results (WashU Distance Carnival/Friday Only)

For University of Memphis track and field head coach Kevin Robinson, the 2019 outdoor season is divided into three segments. The first of those three ends with this weekend’s Joey Haines Invitational at Southeast Missouri.
 
The Tigers men’s and women’s squads travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for the annual two-day meet. Southeast Missouri’s Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex is the meet’s host site.
 
Friday’s action starts at 3:30 p.m. (CT) with the hammer throw, followed by the 10,000 meters at 6:45 p.m. (CT). The remainder of the Haines Invitational is set for Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).
 
The Tigers also are sending a men’s distance group to run in the WashU Distance Carnival in St. Louis, Mo., Friday. The carnival runs from 2-7 p.m. (CT) on the Washington University campus.
 
The Joey Haines Invitational is the Tigers’ third-consecutive meet to open the 2019 outdoor season. After a week off from competition Apr. 5-6, Memphis’ campaign gets into high gear with meets at Alabama Apr. 11-12 and Auburn Apr. 19-20 before hosting its home meet Apr. 26-27. The third portion of the campaign is the postseason that begins in mid-May with the conference championships. 
 
Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
“I look at our outdoor season in three segments. We have our preliminary segment with three meets back-to-back-to-back to open the season where we figure out who we are. Then, we have a break, a week off to transition and prepare for meets at Alabama and Auburn and our home meet. Those three meets are the heart of our regular season, and they lead us into the postseason.
 
“This (Joey Haines Invitational) is a good opportunity for us because it’s not a huge or overly-competitive meet. This allows us to go in and work on some things. It allows us to perform technically without the pressure of trying to make a final. Of course, we’re always competitive. We head into every meet wanting to win everything that we enter. That’s never going to happen, but that’s got to be out mindset.
 
“I’m excited for the opportunity (this weekend). The weather’s a little uncertain, but that’s the outdoor season and the elements will be the same for all of the teams. It’s not a crutch, but the weather will impact who I enter (into events).
 
“We’re also sending a group of distance runners to compete in a Distance Carnival (at Washington University) in St. Louis Friday. We’ll have 6 or 7 athletes run. Right now, our men’s distance group is stepping up and putting down some really good performances, especially this early in the season. This will be a good opportunity for them to run in some fast races and put up some PRs.
 
“We’re doing some good things early. We need to continue to build momentum and capitalize on our opportunities.”
 
Team Scoring
The Joey Haines Invitational is a scoring meet.

Teams Competing

Austin Peay, Belmont, Lipscomb, Marquette, Memphis, Murray State, UT Martin, Western Illinois, Wisconsin-Milwaukee​

Tigers Tidbits

• This weekend’s meet at Southeast Missouri is a homecoming for head coach Kevin Robinson, who hails from Perryville, Mo. Perryville is an estimated 45-minute drive from Cape Girardeau.
• This is the sixth-straight year Memphis has competed in Southeast Missouri’s Joey Haines Invitational, which is named for the former Redhawks track and field head coach and a U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches (USTFCCCA) Hall of Famer. It also is the 11^thtime in the last 12 seasons the Tigers have competed in an outdoor meet at Southeast Missouri.
• In the 2018 Joey Haines Invitational, Memphis set two school records in the women’s hammer – which has since been broken – and the men’s 4×400 meter relay. The Tigers relay broke a 40-year-old school record.
• Speaking of school records, the Memphis women’s throwers are off to a good start in 2019. Freshman Amber Simpson took the school record in the hammer in her collegiate debut Mar. 16-17 and then improved her mark at last weekend’s Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays in Starkville, Miss. The other school record-setter was senior Ashley Pryke, who re-set her mark in winning her 17^thcareer javelin title at Mississippi State last week.
• The men’s distance group has “sprinted” out of the gates in the 2019 outdoor season. In the first two meets, the group has four titles and six top-three performances. Five distance runners – Payton Gleason, Matthew Kamph, Julian Sanchez-Pinto, Matthew Viveiros and Tate Wyatt – all rank among the top-50 in the NCAA East Region in their respective events.

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