CIF announces revised schedule for state track and field meet

The CIF announced its revised schedule for the state track and field meet to be held Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis.

With the National Weather Service predicting temperatures of 105 degrees Friday and Saturday, the CIF has modified the schedule both days.

While some athletes could probably get away with applying a generous coating of sunblock, others – distance runners, for instance – would find the heat debilitating.

On Friday, preliminary field events will begin at 5 p.m. – with the exception of the girls discus, which starts at 4 – while track events will not get underway until 6 p.m. For the finals on Saturday, field events will start at 6 p.m. – except girls discus, which begins at 4:30 p.m. – and track events will begin at 7 p.m.

That means on both nights competition won’t wrap up until around 11 o’clock.

The revised schedule marks the first time in the meet’s 98-year history that the schedule has been changed due to weather. The 1993 championships were unceremoniously canceled by then-CIF commissioner Thomas Byrnes because of rain in Southern California. The outcry was so great, however, that the CIF rescheduled the meet and completed the final round two weeks later at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Merced High and North Salinas shared the boys state championship that season.

Go to cifstate.org/sports/track_and_field/index for the complete revised schedule.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 2:20 PM with the headline "CIF announces revised schedule for state track and field meet."