The Notre Dame Frozen Invitational will be just that this weekend as the 2023 season starts on a chilly day in Cape Girardeau on Saturday, March 18.
The 19-team field will feature teams from all over the state with St. Louis and Kansas City represented along with the rest from the bootheel.
This marks the third year of the event.
"The goal for this meet was to establish a quality invitational to kick off the season with some of the best competition in the state," Notre Dame coach Ryan Long said. "I believe it is extremely beneficial to attend a meet such as this early in the season. This allows newcomers to see early on what high-level track looks like so they can get right to work on their state journey following the meet. High-level athletes get to see each other as soon as the season begins quickly learning if they are ready for the season's challenges or not."
Temperatures will make the meet live up to the name with temperatures in the mid-30s and projected winds to be 15 miles per hour -- truly a frozen invitational.
Long calls this field perhaps the deepest in the three years it has been held. On the girls' side, Ste. Genevieve took fourth in Class 3 last year, while Saxony Lutheran was third in Class 2. The boys' field has a fourth-place team in St. Mary's of St. Louis, fourth in Class 3 and Festus took third in Class 4.
"Over the years I have gotten to know many of the coaches in attendance and I believe we all share the same goal, which is giving our kids the opportunity to be seen, and have fun competing against the best," Long said. "We are blessed to host the schools choosing to attend this year."