Jan. 18, 2008

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana Tech's nationally renowned indoor track and field team will begin the quest for its third Western Athletic Conference championship in four years Saturday, Jan. 19, at the 2008 Purple Tiger Indoor Classic on the campus of LSU.

"It's the season opener and there are a lot of new faces," Tech head coach Gary Stanley. "We're anxious to see how well they perform as we march towards the WAC indoor championships."

Last season, the Techsters finished just 3.5 points shy of a three-peat in the WAC Indoor Championship, while the men bring back a good amount of experience as they look to win their first WAC Indoor title this season.

Gone from last year's team are All-Americans Nina Gilbert, Latonia Wilson and Miriam Barnes in the sprints and relays for the Lady Techsters, but All-American sophomore Kamelia Stroy will return for the Techsters along with thrower Nadia Alexander. WAC Outdoor Freshman of the Year Latoya Collins also returns for the jumps.

On the men's side, All-American and WAC Outdoor Performer of the Year Michael Coleman and WAC Freshman of the Year Albert Fullwood also return for the Bulldogs.

Running events are set to begin at 10 a.m. in the Carl Maddox Track and Field Complex with field events starting at 11 a.m.