Jan. 27, 2012
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SEATTLE, Wash. - The UC Davis women's indoor track and field team will open its 2012 season on Friday evening, taking a squad of 15 competitors to the highly competitive UW Invitational at Dempsey Indoor at the University of Washington.
The Aggies' only competition on Friday will be the 200-meter dash but it will be a busy one for UC Davis which has nine individuals in the event. The remainder of the Aggies' action will take place throughout Saturday.
The trip to the Pacific Northwest is the first of two for UC Davis this indoor season and will give first-year head coach Drew Wartenburg a good gauge on the Aggies' training.
"For the women, the indoor meets provide an opportunity to jumpstart the 2012 season and give us an objective measure of where people stand after months of preparation at home," he said. "Each year we look for improvement, on the individual and team levels, from marks achieved in past years.
"Our two vaulters (Lauren Radke, Emily Bush) that attended the Reno Vault Summit last weekend have already demonstrated good starting points and Friday afternoon we'll look for our nine women in the 200 to set a tone for the weekend and for the new year," he said.
Kayla Carter, Janay Pierce, Sarah Griffith, Tonie Williams, Kellie Grigg, Leslie Reed, Alana Babers, Ashley Marshall and Melanise Chapman will race among the nine sections of the 200 which begin on Friday at 5 p.m.
Chapman, Marshall, Reed, and Pierce will continue with the 60-meter dash on Saturday while Griffith, Griggs, Babers and Williams will race in the 400. Carter will add the 60-meter hurdles to her events list and Lauren Wallace will take part in the 800.
Radke and Bush will continue their early-season competition with the pole vault on Saturday afternoon while Ashley Hearn and Veronica Smart will open their seasons in the shot put and weight throws. Katie Barber is entered in the high jump.
The meet at the University of Washington, which will also host the Husky Invitational in two weeks, will feature some of the country's top track and field athletes including OIympians, World Championship medalists and collegiate champions. More than 1,000 competitors will make up the field.
