The Capital Athletic Conference Board of Directors announced the addition of Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field to the conference’s already strong lineup of championship sports.
The first CAC Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held Sunday, Feb. 19, at George Mason University’s Field House complex in Fairfax, Va. Several field events will start at approximately 10:30 a.m., and the track events will begin later in the morning.
The additional events raise the number of CAC-sponsored championships to 21, including 11 for women and 10 for men. The addition of the Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships is the first since the CAC added men’s golf as a championship sport during the 2007-08 season.
Teams competing in the first CAC Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships include Frostburg State University, Hood College, the University of Mary Washington, Salisbury University, Stevenson University, Wesley College and York College of Pa.
“The Board of Directors felt the time was right to showcase the indoor performances of the CAC teams, which have been competing independently for the past few years,” said Commissioner Tom Byrnes. “We now have seven teams competing during the indoor season, so we’re preparing for a championship event that will feature many exciting and high-quality performances.”
CAC competitors from Salisbury and Mary Washington have qualified for NCAA indoor track & field championship competition in past years as independent teams, competing in a variety of meets throughout the region.
Traditionally, the Sea Gulls and Eagles have been the dominant teams during the spring outdoor season, combining to win 18 CAC men’s championships (12 by Salisbury) and all 18 women’s titles (16 by Mary Washington).
York, the only other team to win a CAC track & field crown, snapped Salisbury’s streak of seven-straight outdoor Men’s Outdoor Track & Field titles in 2011. It was the Spartans’ third men’s championship since the inception of the conference in 1991.
Salisbury has won the last two CAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team championship trophies after 16-straight titles by UMW since Women’s Outdoor Track & Field was added in 1994.
Six of the seven CAC teams open the 2011-12 Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field season this weekend (Dec. 3/4). Each team will compete in at least a handful of events throughout the region, mostly in January and February, leading up to the first CAC Championship.
The CAC composite schedule for the 2011-12 indoor and outdoor Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field seasons is available at
http://www.cacsports.com/sports/mtrack/2011-12/schedule.
