The first Sacramento State Nike Elite Invite track meet is coming to Hornet Stadium and the track and field team is excited for the privilege.

The Hornets are ready and willing to take on high-caliber teams as well as professional athletes. They will take the track starting on Thursday.

“I cannot wait to compete against some of the best hurdlers. It is going to be a high-caliber meet and I run better when there is more competition in the field,” sophomore hurdler Jermaine Wilson said.

Teams like Oregon, Washington State, Kansas State, and UC Berkeley will be in attendance at Sac State, where they are looking to get some good time in during the beginning of the season. “This is one of the fastest tracks in the nation so people are looking to open up with a good meet here at our stadium. We train on this track, so we are accustomed to it,” Wilson said.

Because the track at Hornet Stadium is mondo rubber, it goes with the runners’ spikes, giving them a spring forward as they run. That is why it is considered one of the fastest tracks in the nation.

Senior captain Lori Vaught believes the team is ready for the competition and that it is good publicity for both Nike and for Sac State.

“I think that this will be good for us because of the competition. Since they moved Olympic Trials to Oregon, it is there way to make up for it,” Vaught said.

It is also good since Sac State just signed a big contract with Nike with its athletic programs. The teams competing against the Hornets in this meet are also sponsored by Nike.

Vaught said since this is going to be the track and field’s second meet outdoors, it will be more ready to compete and getting used to the transition from indoor to outdoor.

The meet will start on Thursday and end on Saturday.

The Hornets’ opener, which is the Hornet Invitational, will be the warm-up for the Nike Elite Invite since it will be the first outdoor meet of the season for the Hornets coach Kathleen Raske said.

“This week has been a high training week for us, so we are not expecting big marks for the Hornet Invite. It will be great performances at the Elite meet, and hopefully by this meet our athletes will step up and compete well against other good athletes,” Raske said.

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Contact David Green in the

Sports department at

(916) 278-5145