Gainesville, FL- The Gainesville Sports Commission is proud to announce the running of the 7th edition of the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field Meet on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The College/Open will be contested on Friday, January 17th and the Youth on Saturday, January 18.
Each year, the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field Meet has produced some of the best marks of the US High School indoor season and top performances from Olympians and World Champions. Last year saw Tony James(Buchholz, Gainesville, FL), Levonte Whitfield(Jones, Orlando, FL) and Trayvon Bromell (Gibbs, St. Petersburg, FL) run US #2, US #7 and US #8 performances in the 55 meter dash, Kendal Williams(Stanton Prep, Jacksonville, FL) and Ceolamar Ways (Nease, St. Augustine, FL) run to the US#5 and US#7 performances in the 200 meter dash, Kali Davis-White(Boyd Anderson, Lauderdale Lakes, FL) run US #11 in the 55m and 200m, and Cayman Ellis(St. Petersburg, F) and Erica Sergeant(Lake Mary, FL), soared to US #21 and #14 performances in the pole vault.
In previous years 2012 World Indoor 60m Champion and 2013 World Outdoor 100m Silver medalist Justin Gatlin and last year’s World Outdoor 110m hurdling Champion, David Oliver have opened their seasons at Jimmy Carnes.
“The meet is historically fast in the sprints, " said Meet Director, Larry Holsey.” In 2012, Marvin Bracy [Boone, Orlando, FL] set the High School record of 6.08 and in our first meet, D’Angelo Cherry [Mt. Zion, Jonesboro] ran 15th fastest 55m all-time."
The meet has been streamlined a bit on the College/Open. The men's heptathlon has been eliminated due to availability of high jump pits on Saturday. A full slate of college/open events will be contested on Friday, January 17 beginning at 9:00AM. Registration for the College/Open events is currently open and will continue through 1/13/14 at www.directathletics.com, or www.directathletics.com/meets/track/31800.html. Use key word Jimmy Carnes to find the meet.
On the Youth side, the meet schedule offers plenty of opportunities to compete in the sprints, hurdle, throwing, middle and long distance and long jumping events. The Youth Event begins on Saturday at 8:30AM. Registration for the Youth Meet will be open soon and remain open until 1/13/14 at http://coacho.com/main/index.html. A listing of events is below. The meet will be a rolling start based on age groups and seed times. Coaches are asked to please enter times when entering athletes so they will be seeded correctly.
Medals will be awarded to the top 3 places in each age group in the following age groups:
Friday 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+
Saturday 0-6, 7-8, 9, 10, 11,12, 13,14, 15-16, 17-18
Age is based on age on 12/31/2014, not on birthdate.
Fans and spectators admission is $5 for each day. Gate 1 opens at 8:00AM Friday and Saturday morning.
The meet is named after Jimmy Carnes, the 1980 U.S. Olympic track & field team Head Track Coach, Head Coach of the Florida Gators track and field team from 1965-1976, the founder of the Florida Track Club, member of the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame, co-founder of the Athletic Attic running store chains, President of TAC (now USA Track and Field), Board member of the International Special Olympics, and pioneer in track and field who passed on March 5, 2011.
“Jimmy attended the 5th edition of the meet just shortly before his passing,” said Holsey. “He just sat and watched as the kids competed and chatted with friends. It is a lasting impression I will have of him- the biggest fan of the great sport of track and field.”
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, January 17th
College/Open
9:00am Women’s Pentathlon
11:00am Long Jump (W followed by M), Hammer Throw (W followed by M), Pole Vault (W followed by M), High Jump (Both)
11:00am 55m Dash (W, M) - PRELIM
11:30am 55m Hurdles (W-M) – PRELIM
12:30pm 55m Hurdles (M-W)
12:50pm 55m Dash (W, M)
1:00pm 1 Mile (W, M)
2:00pm 400m Dash (W, M)
2:00pm Shot Put (W followed by M), Triple Jump (W followed by M)
2:45pm 800m Run (W, M)
3:30pm 200m Dash (W, M)
4:15pm 3000m Run (W, M)
5:15pm 4x400m Relay (W, M)
5:30pm DMR Relay (W, M)
Saturday, January 18th
Youth
Long Jump (G-B)(Young-Old), Shot Put (B-G)(Old-Young), Pole Vault (G-B)
1 Mile Run (G-B) [7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18]
55m Hurdles G-B)(13, 14, 15-16, 17-18)
55m Dash (G-B)(All ages)
400m Dash (G-B)(All ages)
800m Run (G-B)(All ages)
200m Dash (G-B)(All ages)
3000m Run (G-B) [11-12, 13-14] [15-16, 17-18]
4x200m Relay (G-B) [0-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18