Event Time: The Red Raider indoor track and field team makes their season debut this weekend at the Ben Hillenbrand Invitational, hosted by the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. Competition gets underway mid-afternoon on Friday, Jan. 18 and will conclude on Saturday, Jan. 19.
Red Raider Notes: Head Coach Nate Wolf's squad returns several athletes who qualified for nationals last season. For the women, Laura Jacobson (Galva, Iowa) returns after a junior season in which she qualified for indoor nationals in the 600 and 800m runs and the 4x400 relay. The senior will run in the 800m and 4x400 relays this weekend. Jess Regan, a senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa, qualified for nationals as a member of the 4x400 relay team. Regan will run in the 400m and 4x400m relay. Amy Katsma, a junior from Boise, Idaho, will compete in shot put after qualifying for nationals in the event during the 2007 outdoor season. Freshmen Olivia Johnson (Milford, Iowa) and Charity Miles (Thedford, Neb.) will compete in the distance events for the Red Raiders. Both runners earned All-American honors last fall during the cross country season. Johnson will run in the 1600m run while Miles will compete in the 3K.
For the men, Kyle Blankers (Sheldon, Iowa), one of the captains for the men's squad, will compete in the long jump, sprints and sprint relays. Jon Woehl, a senior from Ankeny, Iowa, and Dan Walhof, a junior from Edgerton, Minn., will run in the 3K this weekend. Both runners qualified for nationals last season in the marathon. Kyle Sauter, a sophomore from Alta, Iowa, qualified for nationals in the 60m hurdles last season and will compete in the event this season. Sprinters Jameson Guthmiller (Orange City, Iowa) and Luke Hofmeyer (Auburn, Ind.) will run in the 60m and 200m events this weekend.
Next up... The Red Raiders will compete in the Iowa State Open and BV Invite next weekend, Jan. 26.
