The Buccaneer men’s and women’s track and field teams have been training for the last four months and will begin their indoor season Dec. 8 at Clemson University.
“The team has been training good this fall,” said Matt High, cross country/track and field coach. “They’ve been working hard and they’re anxious to compete.”
The Clemson Opener will give both teams a chance to compete before the Christmas holidays and see where they stand when they come back for next semester.
“It’s a low key meet,” High said. “Everyone will be doing something out of their normal events.”
The Bucs will be looking to seniors Evan Hawkins and Jason Farr as well as sophomore Andrew Whitson to provide the bulk of the points when the Southern Conference Indoor Championships roll around.
Hawkins, a three-time 400-meter dash conference champion, will be looked upon to defend the indoor title he won last year, as well as provide points in the 200-meter dash and 1600-meter relay for the Bucs.
Farr, the 1999 outdoor conference champion in the high jump, will be looked upon to provide much needed points in the jumping events, which High believes will be one of the Bucs strong areas.
“The sprints and the jumps will be our strongest events on both sides,” High said.
The Bucs will also need Whitson to perform in the way that enabled him to win the decathlon at the outdoor conference championships in dominating fashion.
In the distance events the Bucs will rely on all-conference cross country runner Greg Sprowl to improve on his eighth-place finish at last year’s indoor championships.
On the women’s side, the Lady Bucs will depend on Senior Emily Campbell and Juniors Rosaline Addo and Jennifer Howard to lead the team into the conference championships.
Addo and Howard will provide the Lady Bucs with a deadly one-two punch in the 400-meter dash, an event where they finished first and second, respectively, at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships last year.
Addo and Howard also will compete in the 200-meter dash and 1600-meter relay for the Lady Bucs.
Campbell, who is coming off an impressive senior cross country season, will be looked upon to provide the Lady Bucs with much needed points in the 3000- and 5000-meter runs.
The Lady Bucs will lean on Junior Lauren Campbell to defend her indoor title in the 800-meter run as well as provide a strong leg on the 1600-meter relay team.
High expects both teams to be better than last year and is optimistic about the conference championships.
“We’re building from last year,” he said. “I think both teams are twice as good as last year. Both teams should finish in the top half of the conference.”
The Southern Conference Indoor Championships will take place Feb. 23-24 at Dave Walker Track in the Mini-Dome.

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