MEET CENTRAL

WACO, Texas - The wait is almost over. On Friday, Baylor's track and field program will host the first meet, the Baylor Invitational, at its new home, Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

"I can't tell you how excited we are," head coach Todd Harbour said. "I'm like a little kid getting ready to show off a new toy. It's just exciting to see all the work that's gone into it, to be here. We can't say thanks enough to Ian (McCaw) and our board of regents and Judge Starr and all those that gave. We're just excited to finally be able to host a meet here and to let other people see what we've been enjoying now for a couple months. It's a great feeling."

After being off campus for more than 75 years, the Bears are returning home. Construction began on the $18.1 million facility on the banks of the Brazos River in September of 2013 and was completed in October 2014 with a dedication ceremony on Dec. 5, 2014. Despite BU's athletes training at the facility over the past several months, the venue will officially open for business with the start of Friday's meet.

Field events for the Baylor Invitational begin at 11 a.m. with running events starting at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, ages 2-17. All tickets are general admission. Baylor students get in free with a valid student ID. Gates will open at 9 a.m.

Nine teams are slated to come to Waco to battle the Bears, including Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota (women), North Texas, Oklahoma, SMU (women), Texas State, TCU and UT Arlington.

Baylor's squads are coming off a successful Texas Relays in which the Bears claimed five event titles and established three school records. The women's team is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, while the men are listed as the 13th-best squad.

In total, BU has 66 competitors scheduled to take part in the inaugural home meet. Baylor's men's team will have 31 participants competing, while the women will have 35 athletes in action.

The Baylor men have a number of marks that are near the best in the country. The reigning Big 12 Athlete of the Week, Trayvon Bromell, owns the fastest 100-meter time by winning the Texas Relays title in 9.90 last week. He will run the 200-meter dash and on BU's 4x100-meter relay team on Friday. Sophomore George Caddick also has an NCAA-leading mark in the 400-meters with a 46.26 time, which he set at the TCU Invitational.

Bryce Grace (13.79) took fourth in the 110-meter hurdles at the Texas Relays, which also currently sits fourth in the NCAA for 2015. Both of BU's relay teams, the 4x100-meter crew (5th, 39.22) and the 4x400-meter quartet (3rd, 3:05.26), own top-five NCAA times. In the field events, Felix Obi debuted with a school-record leap of 53-3.5 [16.24m] in the triple jump at the Texas Relays. That is currently the fourth-best jump nationally.

Meanwhile on the women's side, Tiffani McReynolds won the Texas Relays title with an NCAA-leading mark of 12.75 in the 100-meter hurdles. She will not be running her signature event Friday, but will compete in the 200-meter dash and on the 4x100-meter relay team. Annie Rhodes debuted with a school-record jump of 14-3.25 [4.35m] last week to be tied for third in the pole vault in the NCAA. In the triple jump, Brianna Richardson opened with a jump of 43-0.25 [13.11m] at the Texas Relays, which is the NCAA's third-best jump.

Outside of Baylor's current athletes, Olympian and former Baylor Bear Jeremy Wariner will run in the 400 meters, while former Texas great and Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross will run the 200-meter dash.

Two other Baylor athletes, Rachel Johnson and Alex Davis, will be in action at the Stanford Invitational on Friday. Both distance runners will take part in the 10,000-meters, which starts at 10:58 p.m. CT.

Following the Baylor Invitational, the Bears will take next week off before hosting the Michael Johnson Classic on April 18 at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

To stay current on all things Baylor Track, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.