By Eric Scott
Athletic Communications
Northwestern Oklahoma State University women’s track and field is geared up for its inaugural NCAA season as the Ranger runners, jumpers and throwers will take part in their first meet on February 1 in Wichita, Kansas.
There has been a lot of anticipation for the reboot of the Northwestern track and field program, and head coach Jill Lancaster and staff have done a tremendous job in building a roster that can be competitive on multiple levels.
“What an exciting few months that lie ahead,” said Lancaster. “We are delighted to represent the former women athletes who paved at Northwestern long before our participation as a member of the NCAA.”
After competing in the Wichita State Invitational to open the indoor season, the Ranger athletes will head to the Central Oklahoma Broncho Invitational, held at the University of Oklahoma indoor facility in Norman.
The indoor portion of the scheduled events will conclude at the same location as the UCO meet when the Great American Conference puts on its first even indoor championship meet Feb. 22-23. Qualifying athletes will have an opportunity to take part in the NCAA Indoor Championship the first weekend in March in Pittsburg, Kansas.
“The GAC made a commitment to its member schools and track and field to add an indoor championship,” Lancaster said. “Once they announced the addition, we added an indoor schedule to experience this historic event.
This will get our season going earlier and help us grow and better ourselves heading into the outdoor season.”
To begin the outdoor campaign, Northwestern will take part in a dual meet with Southwestern Oklahoma State on the first Saturday in March, followed by the Oklahoma Baptist Early Invitational on March 15. There will be a two-day invitational meet March 29-30 at Oklahoma Baptist as well.
On Saturday, April 6, the Northwestern athletes will compete in the Route 66 Relays in Yukon, Oklahoma. The final scheduled meet of the outdoor season is set for April 18-19 at Oklahoma Baptist for the GAC Championships.
The 2019 Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held May 23-25 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
“We are fortunate enough to have good competitions locally, across the state and over the border to be a representative of Northwestern.”