Jan. 15, 2010

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV women's track and field team begins its indoor season on Saturday, traveling to the Lumberjack Invitational, which will be held at the J. L. Walkup Skydome on the campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

The Rebels will be in a field that is slated to include the host Lumberjacks, Arizona and several unattached athletes who will be competing in the all-day meet that is scheduled to start at 6:45 a.m. (PT).

UNLV head coach Yvonne Scott, who is entering her third season at the helm of the program, is excited to get the season underway and see how the team performs in its first meet.

"This first meet at NAU is an opportunity for the team to get back into competition mode," Scott said. "They have spent time away for the holidays and we need to get them race ready by conference, and this is the first opportunity to get that done. We will train through this competition and use it as a way for them to get physically and mentally stronger, as we have a long season ahead."

Scott and her assistants, Tamara Ards and Tony Houchin, welcome back 23 student-athletes, including a pair of school record breakers in Amanda Bingson and Candise Maxwell. That group will be joined by 19 newcomers, several of which will be expected to step in and contribute right away in their rookie season with the Rebels.

The first event of the day will be the women's long jump and the first race on the track is the women's 1-mile run, while the meet will draw to a close with the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay races.