Contributor: The Nerd
Nebraska doesn't offer an indoor track season, but racing opportunities have dramatically increased the past few years. These are 'open' meets where the athletes compete unattached (not linked to your high school), so each athlete is responsible for registering. These are very low-key meets and are excellent way sneak in a mid-winter workout or work on racing strategy. If you're aware of other races, shoot us an e-mail at jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll add it.
Saturday, December 9: Washburn University, Topeka, KS (1st of 3 meets), 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. High school athletes only. 200-meter banked track. Three meets on December 9, January 13 and February 17. The schedule for 2023/24 has not been published but the 2022/23 meets included running events from 60 meters to 2-mile as well as six field events.
Sunday, December 10: Concordia University, Seward, NE (1st of 4 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, January 6: Pittsburg State/Prentice Gudgen HS Invitationalhigh school meet, Pittsburg, KS. 300-meter track. The information link was not active as of 11/4/23 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 13: Washburn University, Topeka, KS (2nd of 3 meets), 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. High school athletes only. 200-meter banked track. Three meets on December 9, January 13 and February 17. The event schedule for 2023/24 has not been published but the 2022/23 meets included running events from 60 meters to 2-mile as well as six field events.
Saturday, January 13: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. High-level and huge meet (e.g., 90-100 heats of sprint prelims). Information will eventually be posted at https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/sport/w-track/meet-information/.
Saturday, January 13: Mount Marty, Yankton, SD (1st of 2 meets). In the midst of a collegiate meet, Mount Marty will feature high school races in the 60, 200 and 800. Registration link is at https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?ID=260741. Registration closed 1/10 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 14: College of St. Mary, Omaha (1st of 3 meets). High school athletes only. Newer facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with a max of 24 athletes per running event and 16 athletes per field event on 1/14 and 1/28. Top finishers from the first two meets have registration priority for third meet on 2/18, but you can still register for 2/18 if you miss the first two meets. Field events include pole vault, shot put, high jump, long jump and triple jump. Here are the details:
Friday, January 19-Saturday, January 20: Shocker Track meet, Wichita, KS (1st of 2 meets). The Wichita State facilities host this meet for athletes from 8U through high school. The Friday night schedule is limited to the pole vault and high school shot put. Running events range from 60 meters to 3200 meters, and it looks like they are offering five field events (no weight throw).
Sunday, January 21: Concordia University, Seward, NE (2nd of 4 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 21: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (1st of 3 meets), 115 miles from Omaha. Awesome 300-meter track. Youth and high school meet, and presumably post-high school. Their 2021-2023 meets drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule. The NWMSU website had not been updated for registration and information links as of 11/4/23. We'll update this post once that link becomes available.
Sunday, January 28: Concordia University, Seward, NE (3rd of 4 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 28: College of St. Mary, Omaha (2nd of 3 meets). High school athletes only. Newer facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with a max of 24 athletes per running event and 16 athletes per field event on 1/14 and 1/28. Top finishers from the first two meets have registration priority for third meet on 2/18, but you can still register for 2/18 if you miss the first two meets. Field events include pole vault, shot put, high jump, long jump and triple jump. Here are the details:
Sunday, January 28: Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, MO (2nd of 3 meets), 115 miles from Omaha. Awesome 300-meter track. Youth and high school meet, and presumably post-high school. Their 2021-2023 meets drew competition from as far as Colorado and Arkansas, although there may be less competition with more events on the schedule. The NWMSU website had not been updated for registration and information links as of 11/4/23. We'll update this post once that link becomes available.
Sunday, January 28: Rock Chalk Open HS Meet, University of Kansas, Lawrence. In prior years the meet included five field events and eight running events from 60 meters to 3000 meters. The information link has not been updated as of 11/4/23.
Friday, February 9: Mount Marty, Yankton, SD (2nd of 2 meets). In the midst of a collegiate meet, Mount Marty will feature high school races in the 60, 200 and 800. Registration link wasn't up as 1/10/24 but should be available as a dropdown under the "More+" tab at https://mountmartyathletics.com/sports/mens-track-and-field. Registration closes three days before the meet.
Friday, February 9-Saturday, February 10: Shocker Track meet, Wichita, KS (2nd of 2 meets). The Wichita State facilities host this meet for athletes from 8U through high school. The Friday night schedule is limited to the pole vault and high school shot put. Running events range from 60 meters to 3200 meters, and it looks like they are offering five field events (no weight throw).
Sunday, February 11: 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 12/10, 1/21, 1/28 and 2/11. 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.
Thursday, February 15 through Saturday, February 17: Simplot Games in Pocatello, ID. A highly-regarded meet that Patrick Grosserode calls the highest level indoor meet outside of Nationals. More information at https://simplotgames.com/for-athletes-coaches/. One interesting quirk is that there are prelims and finals for the 800, 1600 and 3200. The 2023 results at https://simplotgames.com/records-results/ list some pretty impressive performances.
Saturday, February 17: Washburn University, Topeka, KS (3rd of 3 meets), 165 miles from Omaha and Lincoln. High school athletes only. 200-meter banked track. Three meets on December 9, January 13 and February 17. The event schedule for 2023/24 has not been published but the 2022/23 meets included running events from 60 meters to 2-mile as well as six field events.
Saturday, February 17: MVP Vibe Fest at Worrill Track & Field Center in Chicago. No info yet on the 2024 meet other than this date, but this link https://il.milesplit.com/meets/509671-mvp-vibe-fest-chicagoland-2023/results/875592/formatted/events gives you an idea of the caliber of athletes who participated in 2023. Boys and girls distance events have 3-4 very competitive athletes but then a large drop off; Nebraska meets may be almost as competitive for distance runners.
Sunday, February 18: College of St. Mary, Omaha (3rd of 3 meets). High school athletes only. Newer facility with 200-meter track that will certainly bolster CSM's young track program. Running events range from 60 to 1600 meters, with a max of 24 athletes per running event and 16 athletes per field event on 1/14 and 1/28. Top finishers from the first two meets have registration priority for third meet on 2/18, but you can still register for 2/18 if you miss the first two meets. Field events include pole vault, shot put, high jump, long jump and triple jump. Here are the details:
Sunday, January 25: HyVee Arena, Kansas City for youth and high school athletes. 350-meter track, no field events. The registration and information link is active as of 2/5/24 and the link includes a schedule for the 2024 meet. The 2024 schedule for of the HyVee events shows races from 60 meters to 3000. While prior year's results have reflected deep fields, the 2023 fields were not as deep as what can be found at Nebraska meets but... we can find no other nearby meets on this final weekend of open competition.
Monday, February 26: Official start of Nebraska high school track season. High school athletes are prohibited in competing in open events between February 26 and the end of the State meet unless they receive clearance in advance from their coaching staff and the NSAA.