Photo: Defending OVC high jump champion Katherine Lynn leads the track & field team into action Friday at the SIU Indoor Invitational

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech women's track & field team will jump into action Friday when it competes in the Southern Illinois University Indoor Invitational in Carbondale, Ill., beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the SIU Rec Center.

Golden Eagle coach Tony Cox is scheduled to take 16 student-athletes to the meet, including a handful of newcomers who will see their first collegiate competition.

"This is the first time that we've competed in an indoor meet before Christmas, but they've been training since school started and I wanted to give them a chance to compete and see where exactly we are in our preparations for the season," Cox said.

Senior Katherine Lynn, the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion in the high jump, will headline Tech's lineup at the SIU meet, along with senior Ashley Mayhew in the weight throw.

The meet will give Cox his first look at the team's sprinters and jumpers in competition. Among that group are three freshmen expected to have an impact on the team's fortures in 2011. That group includes Brittany Cotto (far left), a freshman sprinter from Inderkum High School in Sacremento, Calif., who finished fifth nationally in the 4x400; Dalis Connell (center left), a freshman sprinter from Boyd Buchanan High School in Chattanooga; and Kelli Keck (near left), a freshman from Stone Memorial High School Crossville, Tenn., who was a finalist last year in the triple jump at the TSSAA state championships.

The Tech lineup will feature the team's sprinters, jumpers and throwers, but the distance runners will sit this one out.

"They recently finished the cross country season, and they're just coming off a two-week layoff so it doesn't make sense for them to try to compete this week," Cox explained.

Complete meet results will be posted on TTUsports.com as soon as they become available.