On the right track: The Fresno State Track and Field team boasts 68 members

It’s easy to mark the passage of time with sports seasons — especially in Fresno.

Football season segues into basketball season, which transitions into baseball and softball season. But don’t be mistaken — baseball and softball aren’t the only games in town this spring.

With just under a month of the 2016 season behind them, the 68-members of the Fresno State Track and Field team are off to a strong start, and intend to build on their early successes.

In fact, the team had strong showings during the Stanford Invitational in early April. Distance runner Annemarie Schwanz and long jumper Je’Nia Sears recorded personal bests in their respective events — shattering school records in the process.

“The conference is getting better and it’s getting deeper both in each event and teamwise,” said head coach Scott Winsor. “But that means the points are spreading out, so it’s becoming a pretty big battle to get those points.”

However, he added, “we have a very good nucleus of young ladies and men to work off of.”

The team is comprised of 40 female and 28 male members who compete in 23 events. Members are selected based on their potential to place well in competition, Winsor said.

“What we do is look at conference level, are [they] capable of scoring? Are [they] capable of taking eighth place or better at the conference level?” he said. “That’s not to say that every person on the team is there, but that’s what we try to recruit and we fill out our roster with capable athletes after that.”

Winsor said members to watch include Schwanz and Sears, as well as hurdler Keane Bland, pole vaulter Shane Atkinson, sprinter Njeri Omawahleh and the women’s 4-x-400 meter relay team.

But success won’t necessarily come easily for members who face tough competition from within the conference even as they attempt to improve on their own personal records.

Although Sears, whose 20-9  1/4 mark at the Stanford Invitational was the fourth-best in the NCAA as of April 6, is the defending long jump champion in the Mountain West Conference, Winsor said, “it’s going to be a battle ... she’s got some good competition, and she knows that.”

The same goes for sophomore pole vaulter Shane Atkinson.

“He’s looking to really make a statement in the Mountain West Conference and make it to NCAA this year,” Winsor said. “In his event, the conference level is very good and it’s deep. Air Force is the team to beat there; they have a very good pole vault program and they go after that event, and that’s motivating Shane.”

Atkinson concurred, but added he’s also motivated by his own past performances.

“Pole vault is different from most sports because unlike running events, you’re competing against everyone else,” Atkinson said. “But at the same time, you’re competing against yourself. When you’re jumping, you’re the only one jumping. As much as it’s a challenge against other people, it’s more of a personal challenge. That’s kind of what I enjoy about it. Every jump is a chance for you to get better.”

Atkinson, who started pole vaulting during his freshman year of high school, said he will probably need a 17-foot vault — “give or take a few inches” — to qualify for the regional championship meet.

Schwanz and Omawahleh are also looking to make appearances at the Mountain West Conference and NCAA meets.

Last year, Schwanz took second place in the women’s 1500-meter race at the Mountain West Conference. This year, she said, she’s more ambitious.

“In between hitting my PRs and getting a good start now in the season, for [the Mountain West] Conference, my main goal will be winning the 1500,” she said.

She has already run a career- and school-best of 16 minutes, 5.58 seconds in the women’s 5000-meter race, but said her ultimate goal is to compete in the final round of the NCAA.

Last year, Omawahleh ran in the NCAA regional meet as part of the women’s 4-x-400 relay team. This year, she said, she wants to make her first individual appearance.

“Going with that,” she added, “hopefully a new school record in the 200-meter [race]. I want to break 23 seconds and run 22-something. In the 4-x-400 relay, we’re good on time, but we just want to break it down as far as we can.”

With Wamerdam Field currently undergoing renovations, the team has been practicing at Veterans Memorial Stadium and Clovis West High School.

Wamerdam Field is expected to reopen next year. But the team will continue to hold meets at Veterans Memorial Stadium said Matt Burkholder, assistant director of athletic communications.

Veterans Memorial Stadium will host the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday, April 23, as well as the NCAA West preliminaries in May.

“In high school, a lot of people are on the track team because it’s a no-cut sport. They do it because they can do it,” Atkinson said. “In college, people are competing to get better. People in college are some of the best people in the sport.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "On the right track: The Fresno State Track and Field team boasts 68 members."