Track and Field Opens Indoor Season
1/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Jan. 19, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin men's and women's track and field teams will open the 2006 indoor season Friday with a pair of meets at two different venues. Seven SFA athletes will compete in the Razorback Invitational, hosted by the University of Arkansas, while the rest of the squad will begin its season in Houston, at the Leonard Hilton Memorial.
SFA is coming off a successful 2005 campaign that saw the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks sweep the Southland Conference Indoor Championships, then finish second and third, respectively, at the SLC Outdoors.
"Both the coaches and the athletes are all very excited to get our season under way," head coach Phil Olson said. "We feel we have a great opportunity for success this season. After months and months of training, it's good to finally get going again and see what kind of teams we have."
Forty-six SFA athletes will compete at the Hilton Memorial, which is scheduled as a one-day event. SFA opened its season at the same competition last year, and the men's team turned in a third-place performance, while the Ladyjacks took fifth as a team. Five Lumberjacks turned in Top 3 individual showings, and the women's team earned eight individual medals.
The seven athletes heading to the Razorback Invitational are Marc Farris, Darwin Johnson, Johnny Thacker, Kenneth McKinley, Reggie Lazenby, Ashley Monteau and Crystal Chang.
"We decided to take a group of people to Arkansas who we felt had the chance to qualify for nationals right off the bat," Olson said. "They also have the chance to compete in a great facility, where the national indoor meet is held. We are also using the meet as an opportunity for some of our kids to get in some faster races early in the season."
The Razorback Invitational is scheduled as a two-day event, starting on Friday and ending on Saturday.
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