BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield women's indoor Track and Field team will open their 2018 season in the same fashion they did last season, in Arizona at the Lumberjack Team Challenge hosted by NAU.
 
Marcia Mansur-Wentworth, CSUB's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country gave her thoughts about her expectations in Arizona.  "I am looking for quality efforts and have been pleased with the training so far.  I feel most of the women are ahead of last year's fitness and I'm optimistic about the 2018 season."
 
Sophomore Julianne Finch set the `Runners all-time pole vault record as a freshman and expectations are high for the native of Bakersfield.
 
Bakersfield native Falon Wilson, was a 100m hurdle finalist in the Western Athletic Conference last season.  The Sophomore will compete in the 60m hurdles and the long jump.
 
CSUB cross country record holder Angel Valdez, a senior, will race in the 3,000m and the senior may have the most expectations of any Roadrunner track and field participant in years.  Valdez, also from Bakersfield, has a resume of awards and accomplishments way too long to list here, but it is definitely a joy to read and you can find that at gorunners.com.
 
Making their debut as Roadrunners are Freshmen, Hannah Walker in the high jump, 60m hurdles and long jump and Antonia Beason in the high jump.
 
Other `Runners to watch in Arizona:
 
Sophomore Mariah LeSure, who made her way on to the CSUB 100m depth chart last season, will compete in the 60m and 200m dashes.  
 
WAC scorer Susannah Vera, a senior from Indio, CA, will compete in the high jump.
 
The Lumberjack Team Challenge is the start of the indoor season and the women are the only team to compete in indoor competitions.  Indoor season consists of three events and one of those is the WAC Indoor Championships Feb. 22-24 in Boise, ID.
 
The `Runners men will start competition when the outdoor season begins.  The men's side of track and field has plenty to get excited about as well.
 
Roadrunners to watch on the men's side:
Junior Tim Van Horn won WAC title in the high jump in 2017 and received First Team All-Conference honors.
 
Sophomore Curt Threlkeld won a silver medal in the 800m at the 2017 WAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Sophomore Nick Zandes won the silver medal in the decathlon at the 2017 WAC Outdoor Championships.
 
The `Runners, both men and women, are looking at the possibility of having a historic Track and Field season in 2018 and Mansur-Wentworth will get to enjoy it all from the front row.