LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky will kick off its 2016 season by serving as hosts for the annual Kentucky Invitational inside Nutter Field House on Friday and Saturday.
The meet will begin the 2016 season in earnest for the Wildcats, after two weeks of training camp after a time away from campus for the holidays.
The meet will begin with the hammer throw at 4 p.m. on Friday. The distance medley relays will also be run Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Action will get back under way at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Kentucky will provide live results.
UK's women's team enters the meet ranked No. 8 in the initial USTFCCCA rankings.
This weekend's meet will be a nice tuneup for the Wildcats, who will be returning to competition for the first time since late last year.
Kentucky will host what has become one of the best regular-season fields of any meet in the nation for the Rod McCravy Memorial Jan. 22-23.
What to watch for:
Sha'keela Saunders was named National Athlete of the Week in late December, as she began this season with a long jump of 21-feet, 6.25 inches (6.56 meters).
The mark took national lead by more than one foot.
That mark was her indoor personal best, meaning she opened the 2015-16 season with a mark better than what she produced to win both the Southeastern Conference title and NCAA Silver Medal last year.
The Kentucky women's team will look to build off its NCAA Runner-up finish outdoors a year ago. The Wildcats lost a great deal from their 2015 squad, including all-time great NCAA Champions Kendra Harrison and Dezerea Bryant, but the Wildcats also bring back an abundance of elite talent in addition to a strong crop of newcomers.
Rebecca Famurewa also returns for her senior season. She was SEC Bronze Medalist in the weight throw indoors last season, before going on to win medals in two events at SEC outdoors and scoring her first NCAA points in the discus.
Kentucky has multiple athletes looking to bring the men's team to the next level this season. The Wildcats figure to be led by reigning SEC Outdoor High Jump Champion Justin Kretchmer, in addition to SEC scorers Nick Anderson (hurdles) and Tim Duckworth (multis).
Logistics
Admission is free. Parking is available for free in the green lot in front of Nutter Field House. Fans can pick up 2016 UK track and field posters at Nutter Field House. They will also have chances to win UK track and field items as well via social media prompts from @KentuckyTrack handles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.