BATON ROUGE – The indoor track and field season begins Friday for the Northwestern State men's and women's track team.
 
Well, it begins for approximately half of the team, which will take part in the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with the men's weight throw with the running events starting at 1 p.m. with the men's 60-meter hurdles.
 
"We won't travel a full squad, probably about 45," associate head coach Adam Pennington said. "Most of our kids will start next week at Texas A&M. We're going to try to knock off a little rust. We're just getting back from break, so we'll see who did what during the time off and see where they're at."
 
Friday's meet is the first of five indoor meets for Northwestern State ahead of the March 1-2 Southland Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Joining the Demons in the first meet of the 2020 indoor season are host LSU, Tulane, Grambling, UL Lafayette, Southern, ULM, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, New Orleans, Xavier, Southern-New Orleans and Hinds Community College as well as various unattached competitors.
 
Defending NCAA indoor long jump champion Jasmyn Steels enters the season sharing the No. 3 preseason ranking but will not compete in her signature event. Steels is one of several Northwestern State competitors who will use the Purple Tiger Invitational to enhance their performances in other events.
 
Several newcomers will make their Northwestern State debuts, including Lady Demons sprinter Janiel Moore.
 
"We have a great group of transfers and newcomers," Pennington said. "The team we were returning was already pretty good, but we will be much better than what we were. This team can do some special things at the indoor conference meet and when we get to the outdoor conference meet."
 
As for Friday's meet, Pennington reiterated the importance of lining up next to someone other than a teammate for the first time since the 2019 outdoor season.
 
"It's good to see some other competition," he said. "That's what they're looking forward too, seeing some other competition. We'll go out and have some fun instead of just practicing head up every day."