The Sacramento State women’s outdoor track and field team is the favorite among conference coaches to repeat as champions at this weekend’s Big Sky Conference Championship, with the men hoping for a top-three finish in the conference.

 

“On paper, our women’s team looks very good,” said head coach Kathleen Raske. “On paper, our men’s team lacks a little of the depth, but will still hold their own.”

 

The women will be trying to repeat after winning the team’s first Big Sky Championship last year in the comfort of Hornet Stadium. The toughest competition to win in will come from Weber State and Northern Arizona University.

 

Northern Arizona won the women’s indoor championship at home in the high-altitude of Flagstaff, Ariz. Sac State came in second in its attempt to repeat this year.

 

Montana State Stadium, site of this year’s outdoor championship, is at 4,500 feet above sea level. The thin air is a concern for some of the distance runners, but is not the issue as it was for the indoor championship which was held 7,500 feet.

 

Raske said the Northern Arizona men’s outdoor team looks like the clear favorite going to Montana. This has been a rebuilding year for Sac State’s men, but a top-three finish looks possible.

 

There is consensus amongst Big Sky coaches that Sac State is the favorite on the women’s side and Arizona the favorite on the men’s side.

 

“Unless things go really crazy, Sac State should win by at least 50 points,” said Weber State head track coach Jim Blaisdell. “They have a lot of depth, and their kids are performing very well. They are going to be very tough to beat.”

 

The distance runners are planning on being a big part of the Sac State repeat-championship attempt.

 

“We’ve had a lot of girls qualify, but for most of them it will be their first time in a Big Sky meet,” said Sac State distance coach Scott Abbott. “I think it bodes well for the future to have that many girls at the meet that get that kind of experience. I think we will be able to score a good chunk of points and compete with the Weber State and Northern Arizona squads.”

 

Eleven Hornet distance runners have qualified for the Big Sky Conference Championship, with nine of them qualified to compete in the 800-meter.

 

Abbott agrees this year isn’t the men’s year, but it was planned as a rebuilding year.

 

“We’ve got some big guns we’ve held off this year; lets some of our younger guys develop,” Abbott said. “The guys we have running are doing very well. We can’t ask for more from all of them.”

 

Abbott believes if the men can manage to finish in the top-three, it will be a good year for the program and be a good sign for future years of track and field dominance.

 

Two weeks after the Big Sky Championship comes the NCAA Western Regionals in Eugene, Ore. A total of 10 Hornets have already met qualifying times for the Regionals, with another chance for other athletes qualify at the Big Sky Championship. The winner of each event at the conference championship gets an automatic advancement into the regional championship.

 

Raske thinks there are a number of Hornets that can get beyond the NCAA Regionals and qualify for the NCAA Championships at Fayetteville, Ar., on June 10-13.

 

“We’ve got a handful of athletes that can put their nose in it,” she said. “You need to be top five in the individual events and we’ve got a handful of athletes in the top 10.”

 

Dan King can be reached at [email protected]