For the first time in history, the Midwest Track and Field Meet of Champions will be held in the state of Michigan! The meet, first held in 1974 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been hosted by Ohio at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware for the past 10 years. This meet features the finest senior boys and girls athletes from Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and pits them against each other on a team basis in a memorable and exciting track meet to determine a mid-west team champion. This year's meet will be held at Jackson High School on Saturday, June 10, 2006 with the following three years on comparable dates also at JHS.

Many of the same people who helped bring the High School Cross Country State Championship meets to the Michigan International Speedway are coordinating efforts to produce yet another outstanding championship event. Under the leadership of Team Michigan Head Coach Kim Spalsbury (Grand Ledge boys track/xc), meet manager Charlie Janke (retired Jackson HS), Facilites Coordinator Brian Olsen (Jackson HS) and Meet Financial Officer Jerry Reis (Hanover-Horton HS), event committees have been formed and are hard at work with the organizational meet details. Additionally, the Association of Track officials of Michigan (ATOM) are gearing up their membership for official assignments and plans have been made with Spring Arbor University to house and feed the athletes and coaching staffs from the attending states.

The organizational committee is currently seeking sponsorship on a variety of levels to help keep the costs for participating athletes at zero expense as it has traditionally been when held in the other states. If you are interested in sponsorship options, visit the team website ( http:// midwestmeet-teammichigan.com/meetInfo06.html ) or contact Financial Officer Jerry Reis ( jreis42@comcast.net ) for more details.

If you are a track fan and would like to volunteer your services you have two options: if you are an MHSAA registered track and field official, contact ATOM liaison Doug Kelly ( dokelly@deloitte.com ) to sign up. If you are a knowledgeable track fan you can contact Volunteer coordinator and Facilities Manager Brian Olsen (olsenbrian@sbcglobal.net ) to sign up.

For much more information on this outstanding meet, including history, records, top performances, etc go to http://www.midwestmeet-teammichigan.com.