‘Big C Relays’ kick off high school track & field season in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - While snow ultimately sets the pace for the high school track and field season in Alaska, schools and athletes in the area can take advantage of “The Dome.”

Last week, The Dome hosted the first meet of the season with eight schools racing.

This week, the Anchorage venue will be filled with hundreds of prep athletes hoping to set an early-season mark.

“The first meet was more of an exhibition,” said fourth-year West Anchorage track and field head coach Antonio Wyche. “It was good to get the kids just out there on the track. Just to kind of get the rust out and make some of them understand that none of them are in shape — they think they’re in shape, but after they really have to sprint, it is a little different.”

One of the most attended track events — and most important outside of the state meet — is the Russ Edwards Big C Relays, which saw nearly 800 athletes last year at The Dome.

“It’s funny because it is a huge event, there are tons of schools, tons of athletes, it’s happening earlier in the season this year than it has in the past so everyone’s kind of raw still — even as a coach I don’t even know my whole team and what they’re capable of, because the one drawback is with so many schools and so many athletes, we can only choose a small handful of our own,” said Dimond head coach Scott Campbell. “So it is a cool event to participate in, yeah I am excited for it because like you said, it kicks the season off and really gets things going.”

The two-day event features events such as the “Lord of the Throwing Ring” girls discus and boys shot put events, long-distance running races, and the much anticipated “Fastest Alaskan” boys and girls 100-meter dashes.

The meet kicks off Friday at 10 a.m. with the field events and 11 a.m. for the running events. Saturday’s schedule begins at 7:45 a.m. with the field events and 9 a.m. for the running events.

The full schedule of the Big C Relays can be found here.

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