As the weather grows colder, the Mississippi State women’s track team moves indoors as the 2008 indoor season is gearing up.The indoor track season spans from January to March while the men’s track squad doesn’t begin its schedule, which is outdoors, until March.
“Outdoor track is our main emphasis, but indoor is always setting us up for outdoor,” women’s head track and field coach Al Schmidt said. “We have some quality kids on the team, and we’re trying to get them prepared through the SEC meets. Hopefully, if they perform well during the SEC meets, they’ll start to get even better when NCAA meet-time comes around.”
The indoor schedule sends the team through four cities hosting six meets.
MSU’s ladies will begin their schedule Jan. 18, with a trip to Clemson, S.C., for the Clemson Invitational.
The schedule continues Jan. 31, as the Dawgs participate in the LSU Pentathlon, hosted in Baton Rouge, La. MSU opens February with the Kentucky Invitational, held in Lexington on Feb. 1.
The Bulldogs then should become very familiar with the route from Starkville to Fayetteville, Ark., as their next and final three meets take place in Razorback territory.
First on the Fayetteville schedule is the Tyson Invite, which will be held Feb. 15.
The Bulldogs will then get set for the SEC and NCAA Championships, which will also be held in Fayetteville. The two events will be held Feb. 29 and Mar. 14.
“You have to build your outdoor season through the indoor season,” Schmidt said. “If you have good success in the indoor season, it may be a good indicator of the success you may have outdoors. If we don’t have much success indoors, then we’ll need to work harder for the outdoors.”
The 21-athlete women’s roster features only four seniors. Annie Falor, a senior distance runner from Flagstaff, Ariz., ran a personal best at the 2006 SEC Indoor Championships, and Schmidt said he expects big things from her again this spring.
Schmidt also said junior Marrissa Harris of Memphis should stand out in competition, and first-year athlete Priscilla Gaines of Marietta, Ga., is a very talented performer and should see some success.
2008 marks the 20th season that Schmidt has been the track and field head coach at MSU. He has produced 27 All-Americans and 33 SEC champions in his 19-year stint.
“We’ve got the talent,” he said. “We just have to go out there and compete.