Mustang Daily Staff Report
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It’s time for the sport that not many people are aware exists.
The time of year has come for women’s indoor track.
The women’s indoor track team was developed at Cal Poly when Director of track and field/cross country Mark Conover was just an assistant coach.
The NCAA hosts indoor track and field events as well as outdoor track and field. While it’s known that Cal Poly places more emphasis on the outdoor track and field, the competition serves as a prospect for athletes to develop their game.
“It’s an opportunity to help the young runner gain some experience in the track and field offseason,” Conover said.
The sport, popular on the East Coast, was established to continue the running tradition through the winter so preparation for the outdoor track and field season could continue.
“We’re going to have a few select individuals who will compete indoors to get some great competitive experience,” Conover said. “Also, we hope to have some individuals who will have a shot to make it to the NCAA indoor championships in March.”
And with the races getting closer, it is no doubt that true freshman Laura Hollander is being kept in mind. The Huntington Beach native, who ran in her first cross country races this past spring, was awarded All-American honors following her ninth-place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship. After racing in record time during the Big West championship, Hollander received the Big West Women’s Freshman of the Year award and the Big West Women’s Athlete of the Year award.
“We like to have our middle and long distance runners focus on one or two events for the championships,” Conover said. “Laura will obviously be one of our distance runners for track and that includes the 5,000 and eventually the 10,000 meters.”
The specific dates when which runners will race are undetermined, but Hollander also may challenge the 1,500 meters as preparation for a 5,000 meter race.
Several schools sponsor the indoor meets. But Cal Poly is not one of them. For the last three consecutive years, Oregon has claimed the first place title of women’s indoor track. And just recently in cross country.
“Obviously we don’t have an indoor track facility at Cal Poly,” Conover said. “There are no schools in California that have an indoor track facility. We’ll look at select event areas to focus on indoors. And the people who will benefit the most within those event areas in going up to the meets in the northwest and one in Fresno too.”
Cal Poly implemented indoor track as a women’s sport as a gender equity sport to get women prepared for the track and field season as well as get them more experience.
“We have a great group coming back,” Conover said of the upcoming track and field season. “And we’ve got a nice crop of incoming freshmen who I think could have an immediate impact with both men and women. The track and field team is a large organization. There are several events from throwers to jumpers to sprinters and hurtlers. It’s a group of many talents. The middle and long distance runners are those who use the fall cross country season and the winter as a means to an end to accomplish what they will as medium and long distance runners for the track and field team too.”
The women’s first event will take place on Jan. 25-26 at the Washington Invitational in Seattle.
Jefferson P. Nolan contributed to this article.