TOLEDO, OH - As the winter chill descends upon Northwest Ohio, the University of Toledo track team will head indoors for the next three months of competition. The Rockets kick off the 2009-10 season at the Findlay Oiler Open on Saturday, with 15 athletes slated to be in action.

After redshirting several key performers last year, and with an infusion of young talent into the roster, the coaching staff has high expectations for the upcoming season.

"Our strengths are in the event areas that we have traditionally excelled, which are distance and the jumps," head coach Kevin Hadsell said. "We have the potential to outscore or match any team in the conference in those two event areas.  Add to that one of the top long sprinters in the MAC in junior Amanda Kaverman (Sylvania, OH) and we are very strong."

"As a whole, we feel like this is the best all-around team we've had in years," added assistant coach Sara Vergote. "We're able to cover all event areas. We had some girls redshirt last year and the distance team was very young. This year, we have women who can score in distance, sprints and jumps. In the past, we'd only been scoring in one or two areas, and now we can score in all of them."

Toledo still boasts a youthful roster, with 22 true and redshirt freshmen on the squad. Even so, the coaches believe that they will make a seamless transition to performing at the highest level.

Several will be competing for the first time this weekend, including long jumper Kiah Douglas (Saginaw, MI) and sprinter Sarah Woodrum (Marion, OH), while Yuhong Fu (Beijing, China) and Huijun Jing (Beijing, China) will compete in the triple and high jump, respectively.

"Huijun Jing and Yuhong Fu will challenge for MAC titles," Hadsell said. "Kiah Douglas has jumped nearly six meters in the fall and will be a force. In addition, transfer Alex Afloari will challenge in both the multi and the triple jump. And Devyn Ramsay (Benzonia, MI), who was All-MAC in cross country, gives us a very good 1-2 punch with Ari Fisher (Lebanon, OH) in the distance events."

"The freshmen have stepped it up in terms of training with the older women," Vergote said. "I expect key performances from them and for them to have an immediate impact, as they've all been doing great in practice. I also anticipate some of the younger girls on the team stepping into leadership roles quickly, because they've shown a lot of maturity."

The Rockets will also turn to several of their returning stars to help carry the squad. Kaverman has the third-fastest indoor mark in school-history in the 200 (24.62). Senior high jumper Michelle Sutherland (Maumee, OH), who was a regional qualifier in 2008, returns after redshirting a year ago. Fisher claimed the MAC Cross Country Championship this fall and was an All-Region selection, and sophomore Julie Snyder (Celina, OH) leads a crew that is very strong in the multi-events.

"We have high expectations for the season, and this meet is an opportunity to get our feet wet," Vergote said. "Our sprinters and jumpers have really been working hard all fall. This weekend will let us see where our fitness level is after training all fall and get a good competitive opportunity before the winter break to knock some of the rust off."

Hadsell said he was impressed with the camaraderie of the team so early in the year, as well as the work of the assistant coaches to prepare the team while he and Vergote worked with the cross country runners during the fall.

"I'm excited about the atmosphere around this team, because it's stronger than any team I've been a part of here," he said. "And I need to commend coaches Adam Kiesler, Jiana Jin and Chris Nadolny for their efforts. I'm particularly impressed with coach Kiesler, who is the strongest sprint and hurdles coach we've had since I've been here."

The completion of the Fetterman Training Center, which will open in the coming weeks, will also serve as a benefit for the Rockets. It will feature six sprinting lanes with a long jump pit, along with a sand sprinting track for sprint training.

"For the first time in the program's history we will have an indoor practice facility, which is going to help tremendously," Hadsell said. "In order for us to be successful, we need to make sure we are maximizing our efforts in our traditional event areas." 

Rockets Scheduled to Compete
60 Meters - Kiah Douglas, Amanda Kaverman, Ashley Phillips
60 Meter Hurdles - Alexandra Afloari, Alecia Zaper
300 Meters - Danielle Jacoby, Kaverman, Kimara Morgan, Sarah Woodrum
400 Meters - Antalesha Ballard
3000 Meters - Amber Cushnie
Long Jump - Afloari, Douglas, Ksenia Kraitchkova, Zaper
Triple Jump - Afloari, Katie Bollin, Yuhong Fu
High Jump - Michelle Sutherland, Huijun Jing

Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu