Indoor track season starts Wednesday
1/9/2011 8:00:00 PM | Track & Field
With 27 new freshman on the 2011 Bearkat men's and women's rosters, Self is eager to see what the youngsters can do. The coach will find out Wednesday when his team opens the indoor track season at the Wichita State Invitational in Wichita, Kan.
"After 20 weeks of practice, we're ready to put the uniforms on and start running," Self said. "We believe we had an outstanding recruiting year. Virtually every one of our freshmen were state qualifiers last year. We're excited about the opportunity to see them compete."
While the meet Wednesday and Thursday marks the first time Sam Houston has competed in a track and field event at Wichita State, Self believes the venue is one that will help his team grow.
"This is a great opening meet for us," Self said. "With Wichita State, Tulsa, Oral Roberts and Emporia State, it's going to be very good competition. Their new indoor track is the same surface that we will have in the Southland Conference indoor meet next month."
Top newcomers for the women's squad include Kendrah Wren from Klein Oak, Sunday Foster from The Woodlands, Kristian Austin from Westbury High School, Lygia Foreman from Fort Worth Eastern Hills and Ayanna Magee from Houston Lamar.
The women's squad also has outstanding leaders in seniors Jessica Fisher and Monika May.
Bearkat men's athletes who look to post top times at Wichita State include Jessie Martinez from Katy, Rodney Jones from Red Oak, Brian Helaire from Houston and Matt Viverette from Mont Belvieu.
Junior D. J. Hayes, an NCAA and United States Track and Field national qualifier, is one of the top returning sprinters for the Kats.
The meet at Wichita State begins an indoor schedule of eight regular season events for the Sam Houston State track and field team.
The season climaxes with the annual Southland Conference indoor to be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at the University of Oklahoma's indoor facility in Norman, Okla.
