ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T will kick off its 2024 outdoor track & field season this weekend as it hosts the fourth annual Miner Invitational at Allgood-Bailey Stadium, a meet that will feature a number of top individual competitors from 24 schools.

This year's meet will begin with the hammer throw competition on Friday beginning at 11 a.m. and resumes Saturday with a full day of action, with the field events getting underway at 9 a.m. and running events inside the stadium set to begin at 11 a.m.

The 24 teams scheduled to compete this weekend with the Miners include Lewis, Maryville, McKendree, Missouri-St. Louis, Rockhurst, Southwest Baptist and Truman State from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, as well as Central Missouri and Missouri Southern from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.  

The field is rounded out by College of the Ozarks, Columbia College, Cottey, Crowder College, Evangel, Fontbonne, Harris-Stowe, Mid-America Nazarene, Mineral Area, Missouri Valley, St. Charles Community College, State Fair, Westminster and William Woods.

The men's field includes a number of individuals who recently won All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, including S&T's Jacob Luebbert (Warsaw, MO/Warsaw), who finished seventh in the weight throw and will be one of the headline performers Friday in the hammer throw.  NCAA Division II weight throw champion Peyton Barton from Missouri Southern is also in the field along with Lewis' Levi Graham, who won the GLVC championship in that event and who also finished third at the national meet, as well as 2023 GLVC hammer throw champion Jacob Morris from Truman State.

On the women's side, four champions from the GLVC indoor meet are in the field, including Maryville's Nia Lyles in the shot put, Southwest Baptist's Lainy Williams in the 800-meters, Alexis Barber in the 1,500-meters and Lily Simmons in the high jump.

The GLVC also released its pre-season rankings on Thursday for the outdoor season, with Missouri S&T -- the three-time defending outdoor champions -- picked to finish second behind Lewis on the men's side and the S&T women picked to finish fourth in back of Lewis, Indianapolis and Southwest Baptist.