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Northwest's Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse, pictured during the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 22-24, will host its first track and field meet when the Northwest Missouri High School Open takes place March 16. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)
March 8, 2019
The Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse, which already has played host to five collegiate indoor track and field meets this winter, will host its first indoor track and field meet for high school athletes Saturday, March 16.
The Northwest Missouri High School Open is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Hughes Fieldhouse’s Nodaway Valley Bank Track. Admission for spectators is $5 per person while Northwest students and children under age 12 will be admitted for free.
The facility’s track and field features include a 300-meter track with six oval lanes and eight straight lanes as well as a 90-yard turf field with areas for jumping and throwing events.
Track, shot put and jumping events will continue after the 11 a.m. start time on a rolling schedule as follows:
The Hughes Fieldhouse opened on the Northwest campus in October as the single largest public-private partnership in the University’s 113‐year history and one of the largest such projects in the region ever. Donors committed nearly $14 million to the project through donations and pledges secured by the Northwest Foundation. Leading support for the project was provided by the Founding 50 – a group of 74 donors contributing $50,000 or more to the project – with the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Family Foundation, the Mel and Valorie Booth Family, the city of Maryville and Nodaway Valley Bank working as “team captains” of the group. The University and students also contributed to the project, while hundreds of alumni and friends made gifts of all sizes.
The 137,250 square-foot facility is designed to serve a multitude of social, recreational and economic needs for the University and region. The facility is open to Northwest students and employees and Maryville Community Center members during weekdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Northwest indoor track and field team opened its 2018-2019 season with the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic, Dec. 7-8, the first-ever indoor track and field meet inside the Hughes Fieldhouse. It also hosted the Northwest Open, Jan. 19, and the Bearcat Invite, Feb. 8-9. When the Hughes Fieldhouse hosted the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 22-24, it marked Maryville’s first time as host in that event’s 78-year history. The facility also hosted the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference meet Feb. 15-16.
