Spiders Set For 11th Annual Fred Hardy Invitational
03/23/2016 | Women's Track & Field
RICHMOND, Va. – The 2016 Fred Hardy Invitational is set to take place this Friday and Saturday, March 25-26th. 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.
This will be the 11th year of the Fred Hardy Invitational named after the legendary Richmond Track & Field coach. 14 schools from across the nation will be competiting in this years meet.
The meet will be the Spiders second of the 2016 outdoor season, after the Spiders came away with four individual wins and an impressive performance at the Tribe Invitational.
The first event will take place on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at the Upper Practice Fields on the Westhampton side of campus along Crenshaw Way behind Parking Lot W39. The first running event taking place at 5:00 p.m. at Robins Stadium For a full schedule click here.
The link for live results will go live once the events start on Friday. The link will be available on this page, as well as the Fred Hardy Invitational Page.
SpiderTV interviewed current pole vaulter Sarah Timko as she prepares for this weekends Fred Hardy Invitational.
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.
In anticipation for this years Fred Hardy event, RichmondSpiders.com has launched the Richmond Track and Field/Cross Country History Page and plan to add more information soon.
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.
Players Mentioned
