University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond To Host 10th Annual Fred Hardy Invitational
03/26/2015 | Women's Track & Field
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond Spiders track and field team will host the 10th annual Fred Hardy Invitational this weekend at Robins Stadium.
This weekend's running and jumping events will be held at the Fred Hardy Track at Robins Stadium, with the throwing events taking place at the Upper Practice Fields on the Westhampton side of campus along Crenshaw Way behind Parking Lot W39.
INSIDE THE FRED HARDY INVITE
The meet will open on Friday with the men's hammer throw, which is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. at the Upper Practice Fields. Events at the Fred Hardy Track begin at 3:00 p.m. with the men's and women's pole vault, followed by the running events that are slated to start at 5:00 p.m. with the 3000m steeplechase. Saturday's events kick off with the men's discus at 9:00 a.m. Running events will commence at 11:00 a.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles.
The Spiders welcome 19 schools including: Army, Bowie State, California (Pa.), Christopher Newport, Concord, Fordham, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Longwood, Mount St. Mary's, Norfolk State, Quinnipiac, VMI, VCU, Virginia, Virginia State, Virginia Union, Westmont and William & Mary.
Admission is free to the general public and concessions will be open on the west side of Robins Stadium.
ON THE WEB
For the 10th-consecutive year, SpiderTV will provide a live video stream featuring the running and jumping events. A subscription is required to access live video and is available for $4.95 for both days. Interested viewers should sign up for the “24 hour pass,” which will give them access to both days of the event.
Live results and live Twitter updates will also be provided during the meet. A recap together with complete results can be round on RichmondSpiders.com following each day of action.
More in-depth coverage can be found by following head coach Steve Taylor on Twitter and by reading his blog. The Spiders also have their own Facebook and Instagram pages and have also launched their own YouTube Channel.
MORE ON LEGENDARY COACH FRED HARDY (1916-2005)
Legendary track & field coach and University of Richmond Hall of Fame member Fred Hardy, for whom this meet is named after, passed away in December of 2005 at the age of 89. Hardy coached track & field and cross-country for 35 years (1950-1985) at the University of Richmond and established an elite program that succeeded on the collegiate and international level.
He was known by his student-athletes as a great teacher that elevated every athlete beyond their initial potential. During his years at Richmond, Hardy coached 45 All-Americans on the men's side and 20 All-Americans on the women's side. He also guided two Kenya Olympic team members (Edwin Koech, who took sixth in the 1984 Olympic Games in the 800 meters and Sos Bitok, who took sixth in the 10,000 at the 1984 Olympic Games), along with three NCAA national champions and one AIAW Champion.
Hardy guided Edwin Koech to the NCAA indoor 1,000-yard run and his two-mile relay team won the NCAA indoor event in 1983. He also guided a two-mile relay team to a world record (7:23.09) for an 11-lap track in the Milrose Games and Josephine White to the AIAW 1,000-meter National Title (2:43.33). White went on to establish the women's NCAA Indoor Record in the Mile (4:31.12).
Hired during the summer of 1950, Hardy retired from the University of Richmond on August 20, 1985. Before coming to Richmond, Hardy coached at John Marshall High School, where he had set the Virginia state high school record in the mile (4:33.3) in 1936. Hardy received both his bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of North Carolina. He was one of the Tar Heels' top distance runners and served as team captain during the 1940 season.
