Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Track and Field teams open indoor season Friday
12/03/2009 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Dec. 3, 2009
By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois track and field teams open up the 2009-10 indoor season by hosting the Saluki Fast Start, Friday, Dec. 4 at the SIU Recreational Center.
23 teams will be competing in the first indoor event of the season, which starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday. SIU head coach Connie Price-Smith said that she is excited to get things rolling.
"The athletes have been training really well (this fall)," Price-Smith said. "This first meet will kind of let them know what they've accomplished so far this year and set the tone for when we come back after Christmas break.
"We have a lot of athletes that will come out and have great marks early because they have been training really hard and are ready to compete. I think that we will be surprised at some of the performances we'll see this early in the year."
Price-Smith is especially looking forward to watching her women throwers perform on Friday.
After leading the Salukis to the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship last season, throwers Gwen Berry and Sasha Leeth hope to set the 2009-10 season off on a high note. Berry and Leeth finished first and second at the 2009 MVC Indoor Championships and both qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Friday's meet will begin with the contested field events. The track events start at 4 p.m. with the prelims of the men's and women's 60-meter dash.
At last year's Saluki Fast Start, Southern Illinois recorded 35 top-five finishes and one provisional mark in its first meet of the season.
Players Mentioned
