By John Evanko
The Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational will be held be at 10 a.m. on Sat., April 18 at Cardinal Park. The event is the only regular season home event for the University of Louisville track and field team this year.
Named after two of the U of L’s Athletic Hall-of-Famers, the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational is a special event not only for U of L fans, but for the coaches and players as well.
Lenny Lyles, who was regarded as one of the fastest men in the nation in the 1950s, was a member of the Cardinals’ Track and Field team from 1955-1958 and also played football at U of L from 1954-1957. He was selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and competed in the 1958 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants.
Clark Wood was Louisville’s track and field coach for 25 years and is credited with starting the Cardinals’ men’s cross country team in 1965. This year in particular, the event will hold extra significance for his fans. Wood recently passed away and this will be the first year he will not be here for the event. However, that will be more incentive to honor U of L’s past greats, something that track and field head coach Ron Mann feels should not be taken lightly.
“When I first came here one of our goals was to connect the past, the present, and the future,” Mann said.
The track and field team will be able to do all three with the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational.
First, by connecting the past, junior high jump and long jump 2007 national champion Tone Belt knows the significance of honoring those who have come before him.
“It helps you realize that if you do your job, you’re never forgotten. That’s big for someone like me because I’m trying to have the same success,” Belt said. “Seeing him (Lyles) at the meet is just an extra motivator to try and do well.”
Secondly, Mann hopes to connect the present. As this is the only home event of the regular season, he plans to do this by honoring the seniors for their hard work and dedication. Each one will get a rose along with their jersey framed by Coach Mann.
“Coach Mann always has our wellbeing, as far as athletes, in mind, but he’s also concerned with how we’re doing outside of track,” Shawn Spalding, junior 400 meter runner, said. “The track team is part of his family.”
Finally, the future will be connected through the Bulldog Classic, which is a high school track meet that will be held after the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational.
In addition to getting to connect the past, present, and future, the athletes look forward to being able to compete at home for the first time in this year’s outdoor season.
“I like it because it’s our home meet. We get good competition and a lot of fans,” Rachel Gehret, junior high jumper, long jumper, and 4×4 runner, said. “Locals really never get to see us compete because we are never at home.”
Louisville will be competing against Ohio State, Ball State, Western Kentucky, and Arkansas State. Both the Cardinals’ men’s and women’s teams are ranked in the top 30 nationally, and they are very excited to be able to showcase their talents at Cardinal Park.
Although the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational is on the same day as Thunder Over Louisville, fans will get a chance to see both the track meet and the fireworks, which is something Coach Mann feels is extremely important for both the athletes and the fans.
“We’ve got a great group of individuals and a great team,” Mann said. “So we want to provide a window so that our fans will have the opportunity to
