Sept. 12, 2012

TUCSON - The 2013 competition schedule for the University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's track and field teams was announced by the Director of Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field, Fred Harvey on Wednesday.

The Wildcats will open the indoor season at the Lumberjack Invitational on January 12 in Flagstaff, Ariz. A contingent of Wildcats could also compete on the same day at the Alabama Team Challenge in Birmingham, Ala. Arizona will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Razorback Invitational on January 25-26. UA will trek northeast to New York, N.Y. for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on February 1-2. The Husky Invitational in Seattle, Wash. will take place on February 8-9. The NAU Tune-Up will take place on February 15 in Flagstaff. That is the last meet for the Wildcats before the championship portion of the season begins.

Arizona will return to Seattle for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships on February 22-23. The Wildcats will make another visit to Fayetteville for the NCAA Indoor Championships, taking place on March 8-9.

Arizona will begin the outdoor season by hosting the Willie Williams Classic on March 15-16. Arizona will also host the Jim Click Shootout on April 4-6. The third meet at Roy P. Drachman Stadium will be the Tucson Elite Classic, held on on May 16-18.

Arizona will head to Palo Alto, Calif. for the Stanford Invitational on March 29-30. The squad will also compete at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 18-20 in Walnut, Calif. The 2013 UA-ASU-NAU Double Dual will take place on April 27 in Tempe, Ariz. The Pac-12 Championships Combined Events are set for May 4-5 in Los Angeles, Calif. on the campus of USC. The main portion of the Pac-12 Championships will also be held at USC on May 11-12.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships First Round (west preliminaries) will take place in Austin, Texas on May 23-25. The Wildcats will conclude the collegiate season on June 5-8 with the finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.

On the men's side, Arizona will be led by senior Nick Ross and junior Lawi Lalang for the 2013 season. During the indoor season, Ross claimed the MPSF Championship in the high jump. He also claimed the NCAA Indoor Championship in the high jump, the first men's high jump title (indoor or outdoor) in UA history. Outdoors, Ross earned All-Pac-12 honors in the high, long, and triple jumps while claiming the league high jump title for the second-straight year. He was named the Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year and the NCAA West Region Field Athlete of the year for the 2012 season. Ross also earned a bronze medal at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the high jump with a personal-best mark of 7-5.75 (2.28m), tying the No. 2 mark in school history.

Lalang claimed the NCAA Indoor Championship in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters in 2012. He holds the school record in the 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. His personal-best time of 13:08.28 in the 5K is also a collegiate record. Lalang also claimed the MPSF Championship in the 3K. Outdoors, Lalang claimed his second-straight conference title in the 1,500-meter run. He also earned All-Pac-12 honors in the 5,000 meters. At the NCAA Championships, Lalang earned All-America accolades in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters.

On the women's side, UA will be led by their three Olympians, senior Brigetta Barrett, junior (senior for indoors) Julie Labonté and senior Georganne Moline. Barrett became the first in woman in DI history to earn dual-season titles in back-to-back years, a combination of four consecutive national titles between the seasons. She posted a personal-best mark of 6-5.5 (1.97m) in the high jump during the indoor season, good for a school record. She also won her second-straight MPSF Championship, setting a meet record in the process. Outdoors, Barrett also claimed her second-straight Pac-12 Championship. Barrett competed after the collegiate season ended, earning silver medals at the U.S. Olympic Trials and the London Olympic Games. She posted a personal-best mark of 6-8 (2.03m) at the Olympics, the best jump ever by a collegiate athlete in the women's high jump. Barrett won the silver medal and became the first track and field athlete from Arizona to medal in the Olympics since Michael Bates and Sandra Farmer-Patrick in 1992. She was also the first U.S. athlete to medal in the women's high jump since Louise Ritter in 1988.

During the 2012 indoor season, Labonté won here third-straight MPSF Championship in the women's shot put. She earned All-America accolades in the event as well, taking third place at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She redshirted the outdoor season in order to prepare for the Olympics. Labonté was the first track and field athlete in Arizona history to represent Canada in the Olympics, taking 22nd place overall in the event.

Moline redshirted the indoor season due to an injury but posted an outstanding outdoor season. She set the school record in the 400-meter hurdles and managed to break her own record six times during the 2012 season. She claimed a Pac-12 Championship in the 400-meter hurdles, running 55.12, the best collegiate time in the country on the year. She also anchored the women'x 4x400-meter relay, claiming her second Pac-12 title. Moline and the 4x400-meter relay team earned first-team All-America honors, the first relay team in school history to earn that distinction. They hold the school record with a time of 3:31.06 and finished in sixth place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Moline went on to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials where she earned a silver medal and punched her ticket to London for the Olympics. Moline earned a fifth-place finish in the final of the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics, clocking a personal-best time of 53.92. That time is a school record and the third-best time in Pac-10/12 history.