Bulldogs Begin Outdoor Season With Dusty Lane Open
3/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SPOKANE, Wash. — The indoor track season may have been brief, lasting but a mere month, but Gonzaga runners still managed to collect a number of personal and school records. Perhaps more importantly, the Bulldogs gained confidence.
The Gonzaga track team will look to carry that budding certitude into the elements when it begins the outdoor season. The Bulldogs' first outdoor meet is the Dusty Lane Open, which starts Saturday morning at 10 at Spokane Falls Community College.
"We accomplished some great things in the indoor season," said Pat Tyson, who serves as GU's program director and men's coach. "Now we have to take some of that confidence and energy that we gained and bring it to the outdoors."
Added women's coach Patty Ley: "Hopefully that indoor confidence will carry over. We even had a few kids who ended the season with a chip on their shoulder, saying, ‘I can do better than that.' "
The Dusty Lane Open is the first of 13 outdoor meets for the Bulldogs this season. The competition will contain a purely Northwest flavor, featuring athletes from Central Washington, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Whitworth and the Community Colleges of Spokane.
"It's a good place to start," Ley said. "While we don't want to be gung ho, we don't want to be too complacent about it either. This a good meet to shake some rust off and compete hard."
It has been a month since Gonzaga concluded the indoor portion of its schedule. GU runners will compete in their usual distance events at the Dusty Lane Open, including the 5,000 meters, 1,500 meters and the 800. The GU women will also put a team in the 4x400 relay.
In addition to their 13 outdoor meets, the Bulldogs can qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Championships. That competition will take place May 29-31 in Fayetteville, Ark. With a qualifying mark at that meet, a runner would then advance to the NCAA Championships, set for June 11-14 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
"We want to be solid and keep it rolling," Ley said. "No matter what distance you're running or where you're running, the goal is to compete hard and to bring your best effort."
