POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State University men's and women's track and field teams have been slated to finish ninth and tenth respectively in the indoor preseason poll released by Big Sky Conference officials Thursday morning.
"We are striving for excellence in all areas," said Head Coach Hillary Merkley. "The more individual outstanding performances we can have, the stronger overall our team will be. We hope to continue to improve individually and also contribute to the good of the whole team. More important than the outcome of the poll is what do we see as our potential and where do we want to be and then what are we going to do to get there."
In 2018, the ISU men's team finished the indoor season tied for ninth with 24 points at the conference championships. Tanner Conner returns for the Bengals looking to continue his success after coming off a strong 2017-18 season.
With 38 points, the ISU men finished ninth in the poll. Northern Arizona topped the men's poll with 121 points and 11 first place votes. Southern Utah earned 105 points to hold the second spot and Montana State rounded out the top three with 87 points.
The women's team finished 12th in 2018 with 22.5 points at the conference championships. On the women's side, pentathlete Shayla Henderson looks to continue her success after last year's second place finish. Ashley VanVleet also returns after a strong season in the 4X400 and pentathlon.
With 31 points, the ISU women finished tenth in the poll. Northern Arizona topped the women's poll with 121 points and 11 first place votes. Sacramento State received 105 points for the second place vote and Weber State rounded out the top three with 87 points.
"We have some strong individual performers who will be returning for our teams and we are looking to them for some leadership and to continue to lead the way," said Merkley. "We do also have some gaps to fill indoors. I am excited about the development of some of our young returners and I think we will have some surprises as several of them are progressing and developing. In addition, we have some new transfer students who can help us be a better program. We have to respond and work towards tapping into the potential that I know is there. We are looking forward to the upcoming season and the opportunity to get better as a program."
Men's Poll
|
|
School
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Northern Arizona (11)
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Southern Utah
|
105
|
|
3.
|
Montana State
|
87
|
|
4.
|
Sacramento State
|
85
|
|
5.
|
Weber State
|
83
|
|
T6.
|
Eastern Washington
|
58
|
|
T6.
|
Idaho
|
58
|
|
8.
|
Montana
|
41
|
|
9.
|
Idaho State
|
38
|
|
10.
|
Portland State
|
26
|
|
11.
|
Northern Colorado
|
24
|
Women's Poll
|
|
School
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Northern Arizona (11)
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Sacramento State
|
100
|
|
3.
|
Weber State
|
97
|
|
4.
|
Southern Utah
|
72
|
|
5.
|
Montana State
|
68
|
|
6.
|
Eastern Washington
|
67
|
|
7.
|
Montana
|
58
|
|
8.
|
Northern Colorado
|
41
|
|
9.
|
Idaho
|
38
|
|
10.
|
Idaho State
|
31
|
|
11.
|
Portland State
|
19
|
