ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA men's and women's track and field programs will have the chance to compete in front of the home crowd for the 39th year when the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational takes place inside Maverick Stadium Friday and Saturday.
"Participating at our home meet is always special," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "It means a lot to the entire team, and especially our seniors who will be competing at Maverick Stadium for the final time. We are looking forward to treating our fans to some great performances both on the track and in the field."
Twenty-one seniors, seven women and 14 men, will be competing for the Mavericks. Among the seniors is an NCAA champion as well as Drake Relays champions, all-conference performers, school record holders, NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships participants and conference team champions.
Women's seniors are Tyriete Dixon, Alexus Henry, Brianna McClure, Chineme Obikudu, Anamarija Petters, Alexus Washington and Tricia Williams. Men's seniors include: Grayson Birka, Diamond Cardona, Victor Fincher, Tyler Forde, Michael Guerrero, Deontre Haynes, Erik Martinsson, Isaiah McBride, D'Undre Mitchell, Garrett Moore, David Seastrunk, Brady Steele, Brenden Wallace and Deondre Wiltshire.
For nearly four decades, UTA's meet has featured Division I, small college and junior college teams. It also has drawn interest from professional athletes as part of their preparation for world-class summer meets. Among past participants are Olympic gold medal winners Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner. Both own all-time Maverick Stadium records
This year's event will feature former Maverick standout Cordero Gray, who is entered to compete in the 200m. He was the runner up in the 60m at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships last month.
In 2005, the UTA Invitational was renamed for Lane, who served as the school's track coach for two decades (1955-75) and was a 30-year UTA employee (1955-85). Lane was the Mavericks' head athletic trainer from 1955 until 1981 and taught physical education as an associate professor until 1985.
Lane was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1982, the Southwest Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in 1985, the UTA Athletic Hall of Honor in 1988 and the Southland Conference Hall of Honor in 2000. He was named a UTA Distinguished Alumni in 1995 and served two terms as President of the UTA Alumni Association Board of Directors (1974 and 1977).
Friday's opening day will feature a pair of field events. The hammer throw (women followed by men) will begin at 9:30 a.m., while the javelin (women then men) will commence at 1:30 p.m. There is no admission charge on day one.
On Saturday, the first field event final begins at 10 a.m., while running event finals start at 11 a.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 6-17. Admission is free for UTA students with a valid student ID as well as for children five and under.
Live results will be available on DeltaTiming.com on Saturday. For all meet information, visit the Bobby Lane Invitational Meet Central page.
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