In her second season as coach and director of track and field at Sacramento State, Kathleen Raske has turned a struggling program into a contender to win the Big Sky conference.

Raske arrived at Sac State a year and a half ago, immediately realizing the necessity for change. For a team that has traditionally finished at the bottom of the Big Sky, creating a belief in the athletes was one of her first challenges.

“Just establishing a vision which I don’t think they had in the past — creating a really strong team concept was important,” Raske said. “Basically challenging the athletes and expecting of them, really raising the bar in that sense.”

It was a rebuilding year but one that ended successfully at the Big Sky Championships. The men’s team jumped four spots from seventh to third, while the women finished fifth, up two spots from their seventh place finish just two seasons ago.

Not only did the teams succeed as a whole, Raske said 95 percent of the athletes ran personal best times, something she takes great pride in.

“It’s one of the reasons I coach,” Raske said. “It’s fun to take an athlete where they’re at and get them to improve.”

With the 2005 indoor season opening this weekend in Reno, Raske believes the success the athletes had last season will give them the confidence they need to get to the next level. Sac State received its highest pre-season rankings in school history, and hope to live up to expectations. The women were ranked fourth and the men sixth in the Big Sky coaches poll.

“From what everyone’s been saying, this is probably our best year to win the Big Sky Championship,” freshman decathlete Jordan Stevenson said.

In order for that to happen, Raske has implemented a progressive training routine aimed to get the team to peak at the right time.

“It’s a building process, so my expectation is that we’re going to start out slow and end big,” she said. “If they’re on fire the first meet and they have all these great things happen, it’s going to scare me a little bit.”

With the Olympic Trials and the NCAA Championships held at Sac State and the improvements the program had in 2004, Raske believes Sac State is on the map in the world of collegiate track and field.