BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Roadrunners will kick off the 2014 indoor track and field season this weekend as the women head to the Northern Arizona University Invitational in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bakersfield's women will look to make an impression in two indoor meets before the men and women start the outdoor season. A trip to Fresno for the Run for the Dream meet will conclude the indoor season before the WAC Indoor Championships which will be held in Moscow, Idaho.
In its first season in the WAC, the Bakersfield track and field program will be led by junior sprinter, Alyssa Page (Santa Rosa, Calif., Montgomery HS). Director of Track and Field, Marcia Mansur-Wentworth, expects Page to put her mark on the WAC, “Alyssa is in the Bakersfield top twenty all-time in the 200m and 400m distances. She has constantly been the best CSUB performer in these events since arriving on campus as a freshman.” Page led the 'Runners to fourth place finishes or better at the Great West Conference Championships in four different events including third place in the 400m dash. Her personal best in the 200m dash (24.33) is the fourth fastest time in Bakersfield history and the 'Runners will look for Page to continue to pace the team.
Mansur-Wentworth also has high expectations for two newcomers, redshirt freshman Marina Emhoff (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) and freshman Ariana Mariscal (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS). The two former teammates were reunited this year after having competed for the Stars in high school. Emhoff will join Page in the 200m and 400m dashes and Mariscal will race in the middle distances. Both student-athletes were members of the North HS track team which won their league championships in both 2011 and 2012.
The 'Runners expect Audrena Harlan (So., Antioch, Calif., Dozier-Libbey Medical HS) to lead a solid group of returners in the 2014 season. “Audrena is a talented jumper with a strong desire to improve upon her freshman year marks in the long jump and triple jump,” Mansur-Wentworth said. Harlan will compete in both events this weekend in Arizona.
“We are missing three key student-athletes but are looking for some strong individual showings and to lay some groundwork for the future,” said Mansur-Wentworth. Among those who could pave the way for the future is junior sprinter, Dominique Alexander (Bakersfield, Calif., South HS). Alexander was a part of all three relay teams with the fastest 'Runner times in 2013. She also recorded the fastest Bakersfield 100m dash time (12.58) at the Bulldog Invitational last season.
The NAU Invitational begins Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and continues Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
~www.GoRunners.com~
