TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK
Vermont track & field opens up the 2019-20 indoor season on Saturday (Dec. 14) at Dartmouth. Five Catamounts competing in the combined events will start the season on Friday night at Leverone Field House. Saturday's events begin at 10:30 a.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
Live Results | Meet Schedule
Men's T&F: 2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule
Women's T&F: 2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"For our sprint/hurdle/jump/throw folks it has been a very long wait for this first opportunity to compete against anyone but themselves," said head coach Matt Belfield. "Those coming off cross country are looking forward to running some shorter races and assessing their speed coming off our best fall in recent memory. We will see some outstanding performances for sure; and also have an opportunity to evaluate our needs heading into break. I feel that while finals week has it's challenges, the team will be pretty well rested for the meet this weekend."
 
BACK IN HANOVER
The Catamounts start the season at Dartmouth for the third straight year. Vermont began the last two seasons with a pair of trips to Hanover, New Hampshire with the season-opening meet followed by the annual Dartmouth Relays in January. UVM will return to the Granite State for the Dartmouth Relays on January 10 and the Dartmouth Indoor Classic in February.
 
Last year's opening meet saw Blake Williams win the 500 meter dash in his Catamount debut with a time of 1:06.54. The UVM men swept the top five spots in the 3000 meter run with John Benner earning the victory. Marina Cannon won the pole vault with a jump of 3.50 meters.
 
THE FIELD
Vermont will be competing against the Big Green as well as the Maine Black Bears. The Dartmouth women took third in the Ivy League indoor championships last season while the men finished fourth. At last year's indoor America East Championships, the Black Bears saw both the men's and women's team's finish eighth in the conference.  

2019-20 CAPTAINS
Eleven Catamounts have been selected to lead Vermont track & field this season. John Benner, Dan DeBlieck, Shane O'Connor, Justin Liechty, Alex Parasky, and DJ Snide will lead the men. Autumn Albrecht, Alex May Curtis, Ava Meyer, Allie Olson, and Caroline O'Shea captain the women's team. Click here to read the full release on the UVM captains.
 
INDOOR SEASON AT A GLANCE
After starting the season with a pair of meets at Dartmouth, the Cats will make the short trip down Route 7 to Middlebury on January 18. Vermont splits up into meets at Boston University, Middlebury, and New Hampshire the following weekend.
 
UVM heads to Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center on January 31 for the New England Championships. The Catamounts then go to Staten Island for the UAlbany Invite at Ocean Breeze (Feb. 7) before returning to Dartmouth the next day.
 
Vermont closes the season with three trips to Boston. The Valentine Invite on February 14 and 15 is followed up by the America East Championships (Feb. 21 & 22). The ECAC/IC4A Championships at Boston University are on March 7 and 8.
 
LAST YEAR'S INDOOR SCHOOL RECORDS
Eight school records were set in last year's indoor track & field season.
 
Justin Liechty was a part of three of those records. Individually, Liechty registered a time of 48.28 seconds in the 400 meter dash for UVM's best mark. He also ran on the 4x200 meter relay team with Will Juniper, Alex Parasky, and Seth Beard for a time of 1:30.57. Liechty, Dan DeBlieck, Taylor Kracher, and Parasky also recorded a 4x400 meter relay time of 3:15.23. DeBlieck registered a UVM record time of 1:03.62 in the 500 meter dash and Kracher ran the 800 meter in 1:51.11 at the America East Championships. Newcomer Blake Williams posted a 600m time of 1:21.83 for the school's best mark.
 
Lauren Trumble's 1000 meter time of 2:45.36 set both a school record and an America East Championship record, earning her Most Outstanding Performer. Trumble also ran on the UVM record-setting distance medley relay team with Caroline O'Shea, Alex May Curtis, and Ava Meyer at the conference championship. The four Catamounts registered a time of 11:38.46.