The high-school indoor track-and-field season officially begins each December, but in reality doesn’t ramp up until early January.
The new year has brought a full slate of many more, and bigger, regular-season meets scheduled each week, with postseason championship competitions not far off.
Only a few meets, one called the Bobcat Blizzard Invitational at Battlefield High School in Prince William County, were held in December. Arlington’s Washington-Liberty High girls team won the team title at the Bobcat competition, with the W-L boys placing third.
Teams have limited, if any, dual and tri-team meets during the winter indoor season. Those are more frequent during the spring’s outdoor track-and-field season.
Some big upcoming multi-school regular-season indoor meets are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 17 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, the Virginia Beach Sports Center for the Virginia Showcase meet and at Episcopal High School in Alexandria Jan. 22 and 30 and Feb. 6.
The indoor track facility at Arlington’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School hosts multi-team meets on Fridays, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23. George Mason University’s Field House was the site of such meets earlier this month.
Once the regular season ends, the postseason begins for public- and private-school indoor teams. Squads hit the road and deal with traffic issues traveling to participate in those meets.
For public schools in Arlington County, the city of Alexandria and Fairfax County, district and region meets are held in Maryland at the spacious Prince George’s County Learning Complex in Landover. District meets are scheduled Jan, 28, 29 and 30, with region meets set for Feb. 11-12.
The Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state championships are March 2-3 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
For private-school teams in Northern Virginia — like Bishop O’Connell in Arlington, Potomac School in McLean, Flint Hill in Oakton and three Alexandria schools — the state meet is held all day on Thursday, Feb. 12, also at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Following state meets come two national high-school competitions. There is the Nike Indoor Nationals on March 12 in New York City, then the Adidas Track Nationals on March 20 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
