SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's track and field will compete in six regular-season meets as the outdoor portion of the 2019-20 season has been set, announced head coach Jordan Fife.
 
The outdoor slate features a balance of familiar sites with the Bears returning to three meets from last year to go along with a trio of new competitions for Fife's squad.
 
For the second straight year, MSU opens the outdoor season with the Oral Roberts Invitational.  The season opener will be held on March 27-28 from Oneok Sports Complex in Tulsa, Okla.
 
The Bears will head to Cape Girardeau, Mo. on April 3-4 to compete in the Drury Hotels Joey Haines Invitational, hosted by Southeast Missouri State.
 
Missouri State returns to the John McDonnell Invitational on April 9-10 in Fayetteville, Ark.  From there, the Bears will travel to the west coast to take part in the Mt. SAC Relays on April 16-18.  Mt. San Antonio College plays host to the three-day meet from the newly renovated Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif.  
 
MSU closes out the month of April with the prestigious Drake Relays.  The 111th running of the Relays will take place on April 23-25 in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
After a two-year break, the University of Kansas brings back the Rock Chalk Classic where the Bears are slated to participate on May 2.
 
The championship season gets underway with the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships on May 15-17.  The Bears will make a trip back to Des Moines, Iowa as Drake hosts this year's Valley championship.
 
The NCAA West Preliminary Round will commence on May 28-30 with KU hosting, followed by the NCAA Championships bringing the season to a close on June 10-13 in Austin, Texas.
 
Fife is in his first season at the helm for Missouri State after serving as the interim coach last year which followed a five-year stint as an assistant.  This is his sixth season at MSU after being named the head cross country coach in 2014.

The Bears, who open their second meet of the indoor season today (Jan. 24) at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, finished fifth at MVC Outdoor Championships last year.