Beginning next Tuesday, yours truly will have the pleasure of attending and covering five conference track meets over a seven-day span involving Warden Publishing schools in Gasconade, Osage and Maries Counties.

All of the fun and games will begin Tuesday, April 29 with the inaugural Show-Me Central Conference (SMCC) track meet hosted by Calvary Lutheran High School but held at Russellville High School just 15 minutes on the other side of Jefferson City.

Two schools in Warden Publishing’s coverage area will be competing which include Chamois and Vienna.

Other schools in the SMCC include Tuscumbia, St. Elizabeth, Jamestown, Prairie Home, Bunceton and Calvary Lutheran.

After observing the last day of April without a conference track meet, action will fire right back up at Russellville High School on Thursday, May 1 with the high-school portion of the inaugural Central State 8 Conference track meet.

Linn High School is the lone Warden Publishing school that will compete at this meet.

Other Central State 8 schools include Eugene, New Bloomfield, Russellville, Fayette, Harrisburg, Tipton and South Callaway.

Friday, May 2 will see all of the Central State 8 middle schools return to Russellville for their conference track meet.

Saturday, May 3 will see conference track meet action move back closer to Owensville along Interstate 44.

Cuba High School’s Wildcat Field of Pride will play host to the annual Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) track meet that will feature Belle High School as the lone Warden Publishing school at that meet.

Fellow GVC schools also competing against Belle will include Viburnum, Steelville, Cuba and Bourbon.

Capping Conference track meet fever on Monday, May 5 will be the annual Four Rivers Conference (FRC) track meet further west on Interstate 44 at St. James High School in Phelps County.

Owensville and Hermann High School will be the last of the six Warden Publishing schools to get their taste of conference track meet fever.

Joining OHS and HHS at the FRC track meet will be Sullivan, St. James, St. Clair, Pacific, New Haven and Union.

As of press time, Eagle and Pirate track fans may want to have umbrellas and rain gear on standby as there’s currently a 45 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

But as we all know, weather forecasts can change at the drop of a hat in Missouri.