STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State track and field program along with head coach Chris Woods announced the release of the 2021 outdoor schedule on Thursday.

“Each meet is a build up for the next meet,” said Woods. “We’re going to have some good early season meets, that way we can focus on qualifying for the first round of the National Championships in Jacksonville, Florida, and set our sights on scoring as many points as we can at the Southeastern Conference Championships. It’s going to be a really competitive outdoor season, and unlike any outdoor season we have had in recent history.”

The Bulldogs will start their outdoor slate at NC State’s Raleigh Relays on March 25-27. Overlapping with the Raleigh Relays is the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays, taking place in Starkville from March 26-27.

To start the month of April, the program will travel to the Florida Relays in Gainesville from April 2-3. To follow is the three-day Crimson Tide Invitational just across state lines, held by Alabama from April 8-10.

The War Eagle Invite at Auburn and the Virginia Challenge at the University of Virginia will be a split-meet weekend for the Bulldogs, taking place on April 16-17.

To finish out the regular season, the Bulldogs will host their second home meet: the Maroon and White Invite. The meet will take place on April 30-May 1 at the Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex.

The SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place in Bryan-College Station, Texas, held by the Texas A&M Aggies from May 13-15.

The NCAA East Prelims will take place from May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Florida, with the NCAA Outdoor Championships being held by the University of Oregon from June 9-12.

With the 2020 outdoor season being canceled due to COVID-19, the JavU and the entirety of the program is rearing to go.

“We were able to, in a sense, ‘re-up’ on JavU,” said Woods. “That’s an area of our program we put a lot of emphasis in and we’ve been extremely successful. April Thomas has been doing a phenomenal job, not just in recent history but in the past six or seven years, and not only in the javelin; I think she’s one of the best throws coaches in the country, hands-down. We have three guys that can go to the National Championships and score. I think any of our three guys could win a National Championship, if I’m being honest with you. On the women’s side we have three that are competing well and training well, and our expectations are high for them.”

2021 Outdoor Schedule

March 25-27, NC State Raleigh Relays (Raleigh, N.C.)

March 26-27, Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays (Starkville)

April 2-3, Florida Relays (Gainesville, Fla.)

April 8-10, Crimson Tide Invitational (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

April 16-17, War Eagle Invite (Auburn, Ala.)

April 16-17, Virginia Challenge (Charlottesville, Va.)

April 30-May 1, Maroon and White Invite (Starkville)

May 13-15, SEC Outdoor Championships (Bryan-College Station, Texas)

May 27-29, NCAA East Prelims (Jacksonville, Fla.)

June 9-12, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Eugene, Ore.)