BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The CSU Bakersfield women's track and field team
will begin its 2013 indoor schedule on Saturday when the Roadrunners compete in
the Northern Arizona University Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.
This will be the first of two meets that will make up the 2013 indoor
schedule for the women's squad, and the first track and field season for CSUB
under new head coach Marcia Mansur-Wentworth. The CSUB track and field program,
which is entering its second season as a member of the Great West Conference,
will start up its outdoor season for the men and the women in March.
CSUB will be led by a pair of sophomore sprinters, Alyssa Page (Santa Rosa,
Calif., Montgomery HS) and Taevionna Wilson (Antioch, Calif., Antioch HS), who
are both coming off impressive freshman campaigns. They will be competing in
the 400-meter, 200-meter and the 4X400-meter relay. Page earned a spot on the
All-GWC outdoor team in 2012 and cracked her way into the top-10 in the CSUB
record book in multiple events. Wilson also had a strong season and, along with
Page, was a key member of the 'Runners' 4X400 and 4X100 relay teams that
finished third and fourth respectively at the GWC Championship meet.
"I feel confident that we are way ahead of where we were last year," said Mansur-Wentworth. "These meets will be good fitness indicators for us to
see what we need to work on. This indoor portion of the schedule will test out
competitive fire and prepare us for the outdoor season."
Mansur-Wentworth will also be looking to returning senior Roadrunners Sara
Nielson (La Quinta, Calif., Riverside CC) and Melisa Cruz (Bakersfield, Cailf.,
West HS) to put in strong performances. Nielson is returning from an injury that
sidelined her for a large portion of the 2012 season and will be competing in
the 60 dash. Cruz will look to lead the middle distance squad and will be
running in the 800 and mile.
In the field events, two promising freshmen will be making their
debuts in long jumpers and sprinters Jamara Scott (Bakersfield, Calif., Golden
Valley HS) and Audrena Harlan (Antioch, Calif., Dozier-Libbey Medical HS).
The NAU Invite will be held at Walkup Skydome and begins at 10 a.m. The
Roadrunners will be competing against UNLV, Cal State Fullerton, Southern Utah,
CSU Los Angeles, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Grand Canyon and the host
Lumberjacks.
Live stats for the meet can be found at: http://micaitapps.ica.umt.edu/nautrackstats/NAU-Invite/
~www.GoRunners.com~
