UMass To Dedicate Track & Field Complex

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http://www.cstv.com/sports/c-track/stor ... 06aab.html

UMass To Hold Track & Field Complex Dedication This Saturday After Football Game

A new era in UMass track & field to begin with dedication of $3.1 million facility.
Sept. 21, 2006

AMHERST, Mass. - The new $3.1 million outdoor athletic track and field facility will be officially dedicated at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m.

Officials on hand for the ceremony will include Jack M. Wilson, UMass president; John V. Lombardi, UMass Amherst chancellor; John Armstrong, UMass trustee; John McCutcheon, director of athletics; James Hunt, alumnus and former track team captain; Kenneth O'Brien, men's cross country and track and field coach, and Julie LaFreniere, women's cross country and track and field coach.

Each official will give remarks before the dedication ceremony and the ribbon cutting ceremony.

This dedication ceremony will be one of the highlights of the Cross Country and Track & Field programs' Alumni Weekend. On Saturday morning, the cross country teams host an alumni run starting at 9 a.m., followed by the varsity teams taking on Boston College and Maine. The women's race begins at 10 a.m., while the men begin around 10:30 a.m.

The complex includes a nine-lane, 400-meter synthetic surface track; a steeplechase water-jump area; long- and triple-jump areas; high-jump and pole vault areas and a state-of-the-art timing system. The facility is located at the north end of Stadium Drive adjacent to the university's softball complex and the Rudd Soccer Complex. It replaces an outmoded facility located on the site of the new central heating plant, currently under construction.

In addition, a separate throwing events area has been installed west of nearby McGuirk Alumni Stadium, featuring two shotput circles, a javelin lane and a hammer/discus circle.

John McCutcheon, director of athletics, said, "The new track is an outstanding resource for our varsity track and field programs and the entire university community as well. It will be used by many of our varsity sports as a training site and for general recreation by students, faculty and staff. It is an outstanding facility that is one of the best of its kind in the country."

Clough, Harbor & Associates of Albany, N.Y., and Paige Design Group of Bahama, N.C., designed the facility. Clark Companies of Delhi, N.Y., was the general contractor. The project was funded through bonds issued by the University of Massachusetts Building Authority in connection with the central heating plant project.