NEW YORK, NY, December 16, 2014 – The next big event in track and field is less than two months away: The Armory Track Invitational will take place January 31st at the Armory New Balance Track & Field Center with a star-studded field, including Nike Oregon Project runners Mary Cain of Bronxville, Jordan Hasay and Galen Rupp. 

A plethora of other great athletes including two-time Olympic jumps medalist, Will Claye and 800m phenom Ajee Wilson will participate at The Armory for the much-anticipated meet. But the highlight of the Armory Track Invitational will surely be its heated Distance Medley Relay (DMR) World Challenge race.

Teams from the USA, Kenya, Ireland, NJ-NYTC, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke, Columbia and the University of Mississippi currently make up the DMR’s field, which is stacking up to be the deepest and fastest ever assembled for the event.

A DMR consists of, in order, a 1200m leg, a 400m leg, an 800m leg, and an anchor leg of 1600m for a total distance of 4000 meters.

“The prospect of our DMR team competing in such a competitive race at The Armory is exciting,” said Mick Byrne, Director of Cross Country and Track and Field at the University of Wisconsin. “There will be a ton of hype surrounding the race and the energy in the building on race day will be electrifying. “

The current DMR indoor world record of 9:25.97 was set in 2008 by Texas and several of the teams featured in the DMR World Challenge will likely run under that time.

“Villanova has always had a tradition with the DMR,” said Villanova University head coach, Marcus O'Sullivan. “Last year we were on pace for the indoor world record in Boston and I know we have the ability to be really moving in this race.”

Erik Sowinski – who set the American indoor 600m record at The Armory in 2013 and anchored the world record breaking indoor 4x800m team last season – will be running a leg of the World Challenge DMR for the USA team.

“I am extremely excited to be opening my season as part of this DMR team at The Armory,” said Sowinski. “I’ve had a lot of great memories there and am hoping to add another to the list against a talented field of teams.”

More than 40 collegiate teams and hundreds of high school competitors will compete on Friday (January 30) and Saturday (January 31), culminating in Saturday's two-hour TV window of 4:30-6:30pm. Check your local listings for the meet’s television channel. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at tickets.armorytrack.com

Colleges participating will be: Albany, Arizona, Army, Brigham Young, Bethune-Cookman, Cal State Northridge, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Claflin, Clemson, Columbia, Coppin State, Delaware, Duke, Hampton, Lehigh, Loyola (Md.), Maryland, McGill, Millersville, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Monroe, North Carolina AT&T, Ottawa, Penn, Princeton, Ramapo, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, Savannah State, Sherbrooke, South Carolina, St. Thomas Aquinas, Syracuse, Tiffin, University of the District of Columbia, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Texas at San Antonio, Wisconsin.

Photo by Victah Sailer of PhotoRun