Men open outdoor season Saturday at La Tech
3/20/2014 1:54:00 PM | Track & Field
The Sam Houston State men's track and field squad will open up its portion of the outdoor schedule on Saturday at the Louisiana Tech Invitational in Ruston, La.
The program is fresh off a second place finish at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships less than a month ago and is looking to build on that success.
“We stepped back after the indoor season and looked at some things,” head coach David Self said. “We had some pretty frank discussions. They know they let one slip away; that conference championship was there and we just didn't reach up and take it.”
The men will face a fast-paced schedule that includes action in eight meets leading up to the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships in Conway, Ark.
“The calendar has been very strange this year the way everything fell,” Self said. “The Texas Relays are very early. Normally, we have two outdoor meets to get ready. We're cramming quite a bit of competition in real early on.”
The Texas Relays in Austin highlight the spring schedule, offering the Bearkats an opportunity to compete against the likes of the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 amongst others.
“It's as close to the national meet as you're going to get without going to the national meet,” Self said. “You have an environment that's really only second to the Penn Relays. You've got a stadium that seats about 25,000 people; it's packed, it's loud and you've got schools from all over the country.”
In addition to its competition, Sam Houston will also be lining up against the elements, which at times can be just as fierce.
“It can be a huge factor in performances and how things go especially as bipolar as the weather has been here lately,” Self said. “You're dealing with wind, cold, rain, heat, humidity and things like that whereas indoors you knew it was going to be 72 with 10 percent humidity. It tends to limit what the athletes can and can't do performance wise.”
The Kats will also be preparing for the short and wide tracks in Conway, Ark. by taking trips to Texas, Texas-San Antonio and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi whose tracks will help replicate the style.
“The style of track at Conway is what's called a European oval and it's used to having a soccer pitch in the middle instead of a football field,” Self said. “The turns are longer than the straightaways. It's actually a lot faster because the turns are wider. These are as stretched out as you can have them.”
The Bearkats are seeking another solid year after returning a strong lineup that includes Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Jay Roberson and conference record holder Rodney Jones amongst a squad that captured nine all-conference honors at the indoor championships.
“I think they've re-focused,” Self said. “They've realized that we're a team that's going to be top three every single year and they're going to have to (perform) on the day in order to win it.”
