Indoor season opens Jan. 27 at Niswonger Invitational
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For Tennessee Tech track and field head coach Tony Cox, the “Stronger than Ever” slogan the athletic department has employed this year is more than just a catchphrase.
As the Golden Eagles get set to open their indoor season on Jan. 27 at the Niswonger Invitational, Cox believes this year’s edition of Tech track and field is stronger than the 2011 version, thanks to a talented core of distance runners and throwers.
The Golden Eagles will compete in three indoor meets and seven during outdoor season as they quest for Ohio Valley Conference championships. This season marks Cox’s eighth at the helm of the program.
Cox expects a group of distance runners made up of seniors Traci Jones and Leah Bradley and a host of talented sophomores to be among the point-scoring leaders for his club.
“We have a strong contingent of distance runners coming back,” he said, referencing the distance medley relay squad of Bradley, Jones, Emily Weinzetl and Rebecca Cline, which scored points for the Golden Eagles at last season’s OVC Outdoor Championships. “We had a really young team last year, and most of our girls who scored points are now sophomores. We expect them to show a lot of improvement over last year.”
Another area of strength for Tech is in the throws, where the Golden Eagles return juniors Madison Borden and Lacy Yslas, both of whom Cox expects to contribute points. Both have thrown distances in the school’s all-time top five – Yslas in the shot put and discus and Borden in the shot put and hammer throw.
Also back in the field events is junior pole vaulter Katie Lowery, who redshirted the 2011 outdoor season. Lowery holds both indoor and outdoor school records in the pole vault.
“Katie has come back stronger and she should score some points for us,” Cox said.
The Golden Eagles open the indoor season on Jan. 27-28 at the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State. The Niswonger is a large meet which will feature competition from across the South.
Tech then travels to the Tiger Indoor Invitational at Sewanee on Feb. 4 before taking part in the OVC Indoor Championships on Feb. 24-25.
The Golden Eagles compete in seven outdoor meets, beginning with a dose of SEC competition at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold on March 23-24. Next up for TTU is a trip to conference foe Jacksonville State for the Gem of the Hills Invite on April 7, then the Golden Eagles travel to the second SEC campus of the season when they compete in the Sea Ray Relays at Tennessee on April 13-14 in Knoxville.
“We will see a lot of strong competition this season, and I believe it will push our athletes to be the best they can be,” Cox said.
Tech then competes in back-to-back meets in Nashville at Tennessee State’s Boston-Moon Classic on April 14 and the Vanderbilt Invitational on April 20-21. The regular season concludes with Austin Peay’s Showdown on the Cumberland on April 28.
The OVC Outdoor Championships will be held at Southeast Missouri on May 4-5.
“I just want to see some improvement over last year early in the season,” Cox says. “The athletes trained hard this fall and I think our team is stronger overall than last year.”
Follow the Golden Eagles throughout the season on TTUSports.com.
