On April 25 and 26, Case Western Reserve University will host the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It has been 20 years since CWRU has hosted the UAA conference track meet. The university was slated to host this meet back in 2020, but due to COVID-19, the season was cut short.

You would have to go back to 2006 to find the last time that this meet was in Cleveland.

“In 2006, we did such a bad job of [hosting] institutionally that the UAA was like ‘their site is not fit to host’,” head track coach Eric Schmuh said. “We had a throwing field that used to be underneath where [Stephanie Tubbs Jones Residence Hall] is now that was on an uphill grade.”

However, a lot has changed since then. Schmuhl and the rest of the coaching staff, alongside CWRU Athletics, have led renovations to CWRU facilities. Whether it is the new throwing field or the state-of-the-art video board at the Bill Sudeck Track, it is clear that the university is ready to bring this meet back to Cleveland.

Hosting the meet at DiSanto Field is exciting, but presents a set of challenges not usually faced. Most conferences tend to be centered geographically. Take the OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference), for example. If the name does not give it away, this conference consists primarily of other local Ohio universities, making these meets a lot easier to organize. However, the UAA is different. Ranging from Missouri to Georgia to New York, the UAA is spread all over the Midwest and East Coast. Many of these conferences have the benefit of getting to compete with each other in close proximity year round, but for the UAA athletes in all sports, that is not the case.

There is also more than what meets the eye when it comes to organizing an event of this magnitude. Not including the multiple heats and flights of some events, there are over 54 different events with finals and prelims over the course of the two days. Ensuring that the meet runs smoothly and stays on schedule is essential. Especially considering Cleveland weather in April, it is always important to expect the unexpected with these meets.

“When something comes up, it’ll come to me, and then I need to be able to delegate it to someone with equal knowledge in that area,” Schmuhl said. “It is mostly an organizational challenge.”

Ensuring a smooth meet with all these uncontrollable factors is no easy task, but Schmuhl is confident that the coaching staff is well equipped to handle anything that comes their way.

Despite these challenges, there is so much to look forward to. Head women’s cross country coach Kathleen Nortz Yohann explains how the best part is being able to showcase CWRU and all the athletes competing.

“[Hosting the] UAA conference championship is an opportunity to highlight top-tier Division III talent and showcasing our facilities at the Sudeck Track,” Yohann said.

On the women’s side, we have not one, but two school-record holders slated to compete: first-year Gianna Phipps and fourth-year Arianna Holbrook.

“It’s the accumulation of consistent, intentional work over time—early mornings, demanding workouts and learning to take care of your body in a way that supports performance,” Holbrook said. “From our very first practice on Disanto to now standing on the line of our senior conference meet, it feels very full-circle. In a way it’s kind of beautiful—we’re still the same people who showed up on that first day, but so much more experienced, confident and proud of what we’ve built.”

On the men’s side, there is a mix of veterans looking to continue their streak and underclassmen looking to make a name for themselves. Third-year Toby Langsner, who has scored in the outdoor UAA track meet every year since he was a freshman, is a great example of CWRU’s continued success at this meet.

“This is the meet that brings everyone together and forms bonds that have held strong ever since my first indoor conference championship,” Langsner said.

The UAA track scene is extremely competitive. There are dozens of athletes from the conference already ranked top ten in the nation across the events. Getting a chance to see some of the fastest, highest-jumping or farthest-throwing athletes in the nation is not something to miss.

Disclaimer: Adam Joseph is a second-year on the men’s track and field team.