Avila Track & Field Ready for Inaugural Season

Kansas City, MO – The schedule is set, the coaches are in place, and the rosters are completed as the Avila University men's and women's track team is set to embark on its first ever season in the near 100 year history of the institution.

Head Track & Field Coach Anthony Boyer, who was hired in July of 2014 to lead both the cross country and track programs, said he feels his team is ready to get started.

"It has been an interesting process," Boyer said. "It is never easy to start a program from scratch, but it is exciting to know that everything we do this season is going to be historical, and I think all of the athletes are ready to just get this thing going."

Boyer is responsible for both the men's and women's track & field teams, and he was able to recruit a solid inaugural class. While the men's and women's teams are not as large as the university plans for them to be in the coming years, but still have the ability to do some exciting things this season.

The women's track team will consist of 11 athletes, including six freshmen, while the men's team will come in a little bit smaller, consisting of 6 athletes. Both teams will consist of a few multi-sport athletes, meaning that they compete on both the track team and another team at Avila University.

"This group of athletes has been extremely fun to work with," Boyer said. "They have all been pushing each other at practice, making each other better, and I'm really happy with the progress we have made to this point."

The schedule, which was released in early December, consists of 5 indoor meets and 9 outdoor meets, and the men's and women's schedules are both identical. The Eagles will open up on January 24 at the Snowbird Open in Jacksonville, Ill.

"I think this schedule is going to suit us pretty well," Boyer said. "I don't think there is a meet that we will ever be overmatched for being such a young team, and I fully expect us to compete week in and week out."

For added help throughout the season, Boyer recently hired two assistants, Glenn Prout and Chelsea Richardson, to his staff. Prout comes to Avila with a background primarily at the NCAA Division III level, and Richardson joins the Eagles after a great career for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Roos.

Please click on the following links to see the full schedule, rosters, and coaching staff:

Men's Roster – Women's Roster – M/W Schedule – Coaching Staff