Ready to show its athleticism and speed, the Sac State men and women?s track and field team is ready to begin the season.

It will get under way Saturday, when the team travels to Reno to begin its indoor portion of the season. The indoor schedule will consist of three events before concluding with the Big Sky Conference Championships February 23 and 24. The outdoor portion of the schedule will start Mar. 10, and conclude at the end of May.

The indoor and outdoor events are considered separate sports and include different records. Last year the women finished sixth and the men seventh in the indoor track and field events. Outdoors, the men and women fared better, where the women finished fourth and the men fifth among the Big Sky Conference.

“Indoors and out we compete against tough Division I schools,” head coach Joe Neff said. “We?re real excited about the indoor season and the players are anxious.”Neff will be starting his 21st year as coach of the Hornets? track and field team. This year Neff will have a veteran women?s team, while the men will have a very young roster.”The Big Sky is one of the toughest track and field conferences,” Neff said.The women will be well represented in many areas of track.

Junior Myesha Kirtman finished sixth outdoors in the 55m hurdles last year, and sprinter Jonquil “Joni” David will compete in the 100, 200, 4×100, and 4×400. Representing the team in the pole vault will be Tracy Dahl and Iran Serrano. Dahl is the school record holder in the pole vault outdoors, and Serrano has vaulted 11?6″.

Leading the way in distance track will be Tina Limon, and Melissa Madeson. Limon finished sixth in the 1500 outdoors and will be utilized in the distance medley, and Madeson finished fifth in Big Sky cross-country.

Sophomore Jonathan Davis, who placed second in the Big Sky in the 4×100 meter relay, is one runner who the men will rely on. Joining the team this year will be freshman Shawn Hooper, who was the State Meet Qualifier out of Encina High School. Hooper will run in the 400 according to Neff.

Neff has stated that the track and field team will do better outdoors than it will indoors. One of the reasons for this is because the team does not have indoor facilities to train in, so they are better equipped for outdoors.

“We are much stronger outdoors than we are indoors,” Neff said. “We are pointing everything towards outdoors.”

Neff believes that the indoor portion of the schedule gets the players ready for the longer outdoor season.

“Indoor track gives a lot of the new people a chance to experience the collegiate level. It will give them experience, ” Neff said. “We are more concerned with outdoor track than indoor.”

The team has been training hard and will be healthy leading into its schedule, according to Neff. They hope to remain healthy as the schedule will be tough for the Hornets.”The Big Sky Conference is one of the toughest track and field conferences in the country,” Neff said.