New York, NY – The Armory Track Invitational (ATI), the country’s largest collegiate indoor track & field meet, takes place Friday and Saturday (Feb. 5-6) at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory.
Live streaming on Saturday from the Armory Track Invitational will be on USATF.TV from 1-3 p.m.
Some 75 college teams from around the country and abroad will be competing in this year’s meet, including Wisconsin, Arizona, South Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Tulane, Mississippi State and Miami as well as the University of Poitiers, France.
In addition there are elite high school and Junior races in the 300, 600, 1,000 and relays. Saturday’s prime-time window from 1 to 3 p.m. will close with head-to-head International 4x200s for men and women featuring teams from Trinidad, Canada, Guyana, France, Jamaica and the United States.
Boys’ and girls’ high school miles, qualifiers for the Millrose Games, have been added to the meet schedule after the races were canceled along with much of the January 23-24 weekend’s New Balance Games due to Winter Storm Jonas. The girls will race at 3:04 p.m. on Saturday, the boys at 3:12.
WHO: Drew Hunter, of Purcellville, Va., has his sights set on becoming the second high school boy to break the four-minute barrier in the mile indoors, and his first opportunity of the year will come at the Armory Track Invitational.
Hunter, a senior at Loudoun Valley High School, will compete unattached in an Open field and attempt to join another Virginian, Alan Webb, on an exclusive list. That race will be part of Day 2 Saturday afternoon Feb. 6. Webb broke the four-minute barrier 15 years ago, on Jan 20, 2001, at the New Balance Games at the Armory.
The men’s 1 mile includes the 2012 NCAA champion, Chris O’Hare, the former collegiate record holder (3:52.98). Columbia grad Liam Boylan-Pett, who runs for the New Jersey/New York Track Club, Daniel Winn of the B.A.A. High Performance Team, Cristian Soratos of adidas and Austin Mudd of the University of Wisconsin all bring sub-four credentials. The women’s mile also includes a star-studded field.
Erin Donohue is making a comeback after several years away from racing. She will be joined by Violah Lagat of Kenya, Gabriella Stafford (University of Toronto) and Erin Teschuk (North Dakota State) of Canada. Villanova grad Emily Lipari (B.A.A/adidas) and Princeton graduate Ashley Higginson (NJ/NYTC) also bring strong credentials.
The fields for these six high quality races include some intriguing matchups: Ajee’ Wilson , Morgan Uceny and Laura Roesler in the 800 meters; and Lipari, Lagat and Higginson in the mile; and Nicole Tully and Sheila Reid in 3,000 meters that includes Wisconsin’s Sara DiSanza.
Robby Andrews is the star attraction of the men’s 800 meters. Liam Boylan-Pettheads a mile field that includes Wisconsin’s Austin Mudd and the aforementioned high school phenom Drew Hunter. Jordan Hasay of the Nike Oregon Project and the 2014 NCAA 10,000-meter champion Emma Bates have joined the entry list for the women’s 3,000 meters.
WHEN: February 5-6. Friday times are from noon-concluding with the 10:05 p.m. men’s college Distance Medley Relay. Saturday’s times are from 9 a.m.-concluding with the 5:48 p.m. Walter Murphy men’s 4×400 Invitational. Saturday’s Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 12:50 p.m.
WHERE: 216 Fort Washington Avenue/168th Street in Manhattan.
IMPORTANT LINKS: Click here for ATI Elite Entries; Click here for High School entries. Click here for College Seeded Distance and Field events. Click here for College Sprint entries. Click here for ATI Meet schedule.
