HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison track & field head coach Chereé Hicks announced the team's 2015-2016 schedule on Wednesday. The Dukes will participate in seven indoor meets leading up to the ECAC Indoor Championships and the NCAA Indoor Championships before competing in at least eight outdoor meets, including the JMU Invitational.
"With our combination of experienced returners and highly motivated newcomers, we have the potential to continue our path of ascension within the conference, the region and on the national level," said Hicks. "Our schedule reflects the preparation our athletes will undergo in our pursuit of championship success."
James Madison will hold its annual home meet, the JMU Invitational, at University Park on Saturday, April 23. The Dukes won the JMU Invitational last year, topping Navy, Marshall and Richmond behind wins in 10 events.
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships will take place in Elon, N.C. on May 5-6 to begin the outdoor championship stretch. The Dukes found great success in the meet during the 2014-15 season thanks to four individual gold medals and a third-place finish overall.
JMU will head to the ECAC Indoor Championships in Boston, Mass. from March 4-6 and then the ECAC Outdoor Championships in Princeton, N.J. from May 13-15. JMU will look to recapture the success of last year's ECAC meet when the Dukes placed second out of 52 teams in the outdoor competition.
The Dukes finish their indoor campaign with the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on March 11-12, and the outdoor portion concludes with the NCAA Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. from May 26-28 and the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11.
JMU's 2016 indoor slate begins in Fairfax with the Father Diamond Invitational on Jan. 9 before traveling to Lexington, Ky. for the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 15-16.
The Dukes then head to Huntington, W.Va. for the Thundering Herd Invite at Marshall on Jan. 29-30 while also competing in the Patriot Games at George Mason on Jan. 30.
The schedule continues with the Sykes-Sabock Challenge (Feb. 5-6) at Penn State, the Boston Valentine Meet (Feb. 12) at Boston University and the Virginia Tech Challenge (Feb. 19-20).
A packed month of April on the outdoor circuit kicks off with the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg on April 1-2 before the Dukes return to Charlottesville and Fairfax for the Lou Onesty Invitational and Mason Spring Invitational, both scheduled for April 9.
The Dukes get their final tune-up at the historic Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. from April 28-30 before beginning the postseason slate.
Stay tuned to JMUSports.com, JMU Track and Field on Facebook and @JMUTrackField on Twitter for updates, results, recaps and more all season long.