16th Don Kirby Invitational collegiate track & field meet April 29, 2006

16th annual Don Kirby Memorial Invitational

The 16th annual Don Kirby Memorial Invitational will be held on Saturday, April 29 at the renovated Great Friends of UNM Track Stadium. New Mexico?s lone home meet of the outdoor season, the Kirby Invite will once again feature UNM head coach Matt Henry?s homegrown Lobos taking on some of the best talent in the Mountain West Conference along with several regional teams, including the New Mexico State women.

The meet will provide a bit of a sneak preview of the upcoming MWC Championships meet (May 10-13) with conference rivals Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming headlining the field of opponents. The CSU women return to Albuquerque for the first time since knocking off BYU for the first time at the MWC Indoor Championships held in late Feb. downtown at the Convention Center.

WHAT?S NEW AT THE UNM TRACK STADIUM??

The 21-year-old Great Friends of UNM Track Stadium will have a new look on April 29 when the Lobos host the Don Kirby Memorial Invitational. A year-long construction project is nearing completion that will expand the east side of the facility to allow the long jump, triple jump, pole vault and shot put all to be contested in the same area within the stadium.

Two new long jump runways/pits and two triple jump runways/pits have been installed, along with a new pole vault runway, all running north and south to minimize the effect of the notorious New Mexico winds during the spring. A new shot put ring has also been put down on the east side, moving the event from the adjacent practice fields, back into the stadium. A wall was constructed to enclose the east side of the stadium and plans are also in the works to place bleachers on the east side to give spectators a up-close view of the field events.

The expansion is the first phase of the athlete and fan-friendly stadium renovations that also include plans to resurface the track oval this summer.

?This project is a real positive for both our athletes and fans at our home meets,? UNM head coach Matt Henry said. ?We?re going to have a lot more room to accommodate more athletes in the field events, which, once we get the track resurfaced, will help us bring some top teams to compete in Albuquerque.?

Originally a track-only facility when it was constructed in 1985, the infield of the G.F.O. UNM Track Stadium was modified in 1996 to accommodate the Lobo men?s and women?s soccer field. The addition of the soccer field squeezed the shot put rings and jumping runways into the south end of the oval. In order to alleviate the congestion in the area, Henry and his staff eventually moved the shot, discus and hammer cages outside of the stadium to the practice fields. Due to safety concerns, the hammer and discus events will continue to be held at the practice field.

Official Website: http://golobos.cstv.com/sports/c-track/nm-c-track-body.html