Contributor: The Nerd
Nebraska doesn't offer an indoor track season, but racing opportunities have dramatically increased this year. If you're aware of other races, shoot us an e-mail at jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll add it.
Sunday, December 12: Concordia University, Seward, NE (1st of 3 meets). 200-meter track, limited entries, 6 field events and 6 running events up to 1600 meters. Two-hour meet from 3:00 to 5:00.
Saturday, December 18: Trackville, Lincoln, NE (1st of 4 meets). Six field events only at this newish indoor training facility.
Saturday, January 8: Pittsburg State high school meet, Pittsburg, KS. 300-meter track. The registration link was not active as of 11/20/21 but the 2018 schedule reflected races from 60 meters to 3000 as well as four field events (no weights). A 300-mile trip from Omaha or Lincoln so likely not a great option for most Nebraskans.
Saturday, January 8: HyVee Arena, Kansas City (1st of 2 meets) for youth and high school athletes. 350-meter track, no field events. The registration and information link was not active as of 11/20/21. The 2021 schedule for of the HyVee events shows races from 60 meters to 3000, with multiple 800 and mile races at the 15/16 and 17/18 level. The 17/18 800/mile winning times were 2:15/5:08 (girls) and 2:02/4:22 (boys) so may be worth the trip for top-level racers.
Saturday, January 15: Trackville, Lincoln, NE (2nd of 4 meets). Six field events only at this newish indoor training facility.
Sunday, January 16: College of St. Mary, Omaha (1st of 3 meets). High school athletes only. New facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. The event is a hybrid of a 'survive-and-advance' series and 'run-one-or-all-three' meets. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with a max of 32 runners per event on 1/16, the 16 fastest (semis) from the 1/16 event plus 16 other runners competing on 2/6, and then the 8 fastest (finals) from the 2/6 event plus 24 other runners competing on 2/20. Field events include high jump, long jump and triple jump, with a max 24 jumpers per event on 1/16, cut down to the best 16 on 2/6 and then the best 8 from the 2/6 meet will compete at the 2/20 meet. Here are the details: http://www.csmflames.com/d/2021-22/Metro_Indoor_Athletics_Challenge_22.pdf Registration link at https://www.cognitoforms.com/CSMXC1/MetroIndoorAthleticsChampionships.
Sunday, January 16: Washburn University, Topeka, KS (1st of 3 qualifying meets), 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. High school athletes only. 200-meter banked track. Three meets on January 16, 23 and 30th lead up to a championship meet on February 13. Running events from 60 meters to 2-mile as well as six field events.
Sunday, January 23: Concordia University, Seward, NE (2nd of 3 meets). 200-meter track, limited entries, 6 field events and 6 running events up to 1600 meters. Two-hour meet from 3:00 to 5:00.
Sunday, January 23: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (1st of 4 meets), 115 miles from Omaha. 300-meter track. Youth and high school meet, and presumably post-high school. Their only 2021 meet drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule.
Sunday, January 23: Washburn University, Topeka, KS (2nd of 3 qualifying meets), 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. High school athletes only. 200-meter banked track. Three meets on January 16, 23 and 30th lead up to a championship meet on February 13. Running events from 60 meters to 2-mile as well as six field events.
Saturday, January 29th: Mount Marty University, Yankton, South Dakota. 200m 8 lane indoor track. 2 hour meet from 10am-12:30pm. Events include LJ, SP, 60m Hurdles and 60m Dash (prelims and finals), 400, 800, Mile. Only 2.5 hours from Omaha and one of the only Club/Unattached meet for high schoolers north of Omaha. Bonus: Track and Field Visit Day the afternoon of Jan 28th for athletes interested in learning more about MMU. Registration for the meet: https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=6&id=197980
Sunday, January 30: Kansas University, Lawrence, KS. Here is a link to the meet information: https://kuathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jayhawk-Open-HS-Meet.pdf
Sunday, February 6: Concordia University, Seward, NE (3rd of 3 meets). 200-meter track, limited entries, 6 field events and 6 running events up to 1600 meters. Two-hour meet from 3:00 to 5:00.
Sunday, February 6: College of St. Mary, Omaha (2nd of 3 meets). High school athletes only. New facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. The event is a hybrid of a 'survive-and-advance' series and 'run-one-or-all-three' meets. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with 16 fastest from the 1/16 meet qualifying for 'semis' while 16 additional runners can also sign up. The 8 fastest runners in each event will qualify for the finals on 2/20. Field events include high jump, long jump and triple jump. As of 12/10, the 2/6 meet is set up to be the 16 best jumpers from each event held on 1/16, and then the best 8 from this event advance to the 2/20 'finals.' Here are the details: http://www.csmflames.com/d/2021-22/Metro_Indoor_Athletics_Challenge_22.pdf
Registration link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/CSMXC1/MetroIndoorAthleticsChampionshipsTheSemisFebruary6
Sunday, February 6: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (2nd of 4 meets), 115 miles from Omaha. 300-meter track. Youth and high school meet, and presumably post-high school. Their only 2021 meet drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule.
Saturday, February 12: Trackville, Lincoln, NE (3rd of 3 meets). Six field events only at this newish indoor training facility.
Saturday, February 12th: Mount Marty University, Yankton, South Dakota. 200m 8 lane indoor track. 2 hour meet from 10am-12:30pm. Events include LJ, SP, 60m hurdles and dash (prelims and finals), 400, 800 and mile. Yankton is 2.5 hours north of Omaha and one of the few open meets proximate to northeast Nebraska. Registration link pending.
Sunday, February 13: Concordia University, Seward, NE (Championship meet). 200-meter track, limited entries, 6 field events and 6 running events up to 1600 meters. There are no additional performance or prior meet requirements to register for this meet, but this 4th and final meet will include medals for the top performers based on results at all four meets on 12/12, 1/23, 2/6 and 2/13. Few athletes compete in all four meets and many will only compete in one. We attended several Concordia open meets in 2019 and we were really impressed by them. Keep checking the website for more details.
Saturday, February 19: Topeka Super Indoor Meet, Topeka KS, 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. Ages 7 to high school. 200-meter banked track. Same facility as Washburn but is organized by Clifford Wiley, a 1980 Olympian and 400-meter national champion who led the USATF Nationals meet at KU in 2017. Races include 60m, 60mh, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m, plus the long jump, high jump, shot put and weight throw. The meet only excludes the pole vault and triple jump from this year's program. There is also a youth meet that precedes the high school meet. Clifford indicates he's got strong interest from club teams in five or six states, so this might be a good destination for high-talent athletes looking for extremely stiff competition.
Sunday, February 20: College of St. Mary, Omaha (3rd of 3 meets). High school athletes only. New facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. The event is a hybrid of a 'survive-and-advance' series and 'run-one-or-all-three' meets. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with 8 fastest from the 2/6 meet qualifying for 'Finals' while 24 additional runners can also sign up for this meet. Field events include high jump, long jump and triple jump. As of 12/10, the 2/20 meet is set up to be limited to the 8 best jumpers from each event held on 2/4. Here are the details: http://www.csmflames.com/d/2021-22/Metro_Indoor_Athletics_Challenge_22.pdf
Registration link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/CSMXC1/MetroIndoorAthleticsChampionshipsTheFinalsFebruary20
Sunday, February 20: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (3rd of 4 meets), 115 miles from Omaha. 300-meter track. Youth and high school meet, and presumably post-high school. Their only 2021 meet drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule.
Sunday, February 27: HyVee Arena, Kansas City (1st of 2 meets) for youth and high school athletes. 350-meter track, no field events. The 2021 schedule for one of the HyVee events shows races from 60 meters to 3000, with multiple 800 and mile races at the 15/16 and 17/18 level. The 17/18 800/mile winning times were 2:15/5:08 (girls) and 2:02/4:22 (boys) so may be worth the trip for top-level racers.
Monday, February 28: Official start of Nebraska high school track season. High school athletes are prohibited in competing in open events between February 28 and the end of the State meet. Therefore, NE HS athletes should not compete at the NWMSU meet on March 5, although masters and pre-HS athletes may.
Sunday, March 5: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (may be championship meet based on three previous meets), 115 miles from Omaha. 300-meter track. Youth and high school (but no Nebraska high schoolers, see note above), and presumably post-high school. Their only 2021 meet drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule.