Milligan and Science Hill to host second annual Johnson City Invitational
Milligan College, Tenn. (Dec. 7, 2011) --- Milligan College has teamed up with Science Hill High School to host the second annual Johnson City Invitational track and field meet on March 30-31, 2012. The event will be hosted once again at Science Hill’s Kermit Tipton Stadium.
“We are pleased to be teaming up with Science Hill to once again be bringing an excellent event to our area,” Milligan Vice President of Student Development Mark Fox said. “The event will feature many of the top local athletes, and we hope it will continue to grow.”
The dates of the event were moved up two weeks from the traditional date to give more teams the opportunity to compete against the area’s best competition.
The event features many of the area’s top high school and collegiate teams. Last season, the collegiate event featured strong area programs such as Milligan, Bryan, King, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill and Carson-Newman. Area powerhouses Dobyns-Bennett and Science Hill as well as Volunteer, Tennessee High, University High and Volunteer made up a strong high school field.
Both divisions will compete in a full slate of traditional events. The Johnson City Invitational will also once again feature the Girls on the Run 800-meter race and the Citizen’s 5K, both slated for Friday evening.
“These types of events are exactly what we envisioned when we were pushing for the facility, and we are honored to be working with Milligan to host these events again this year,” Science Hill Athletic Director Keith Turner said. “We feel that with such a wonderful facility and the city's reputation for hosting athletic events that this particular event will continue to grow in the future and help attract other track events for our city.”
In addition, Kermit Tipton Stadium will again host the Appalachian Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships during the 2012 outdoor season.
"Not only is this event a great way to showcase the sport of track and field on many levels, we get to take advantage of an outstanding facility like Kermit Tipton,” Milligan Track and Field Head Coach Chris Layne said.
Johnson City has a storied history in hosting track and field events. ETSU’s MHSA/Athletic Center is home to the Niswonger Invitational, which has showcased many Olympians and world class athletes over the course of its 34 year history. Milligan also hosted the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Nationals for 10 consecutive years inside the venue.
In addition to the success of hosting track and field events, Johnson City is also home to several other popular running events. The city, which was named the number one running city in America during the 1980s, and the surrounding region is host to the world-renowned Crazy 8’s road race, Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, Bluegrass Half Marathon and has been host to the AAC Cross Country Conference Championships. The Tri-Cities area is also home to two nationally known collegiate programs in East Tennessee State University and Milligan College.
For more information on the event, click here.