The Washington State men and women’s track and field teams will start the 2014 season by hosting the WSU Indoor Open this weekend.  

WSU track and field Head Coach Rick Sloan is in his 20th year as the head coach for the Cougars and his 41st season as part of the Cougar track program. 

After the month-long vacation between the fall and spring semesters, Sloan said some people came back sharp, but others still have a lot of work to do. 

“Depending on where you go home for your vacation, you have different facilities, weather conditions, and things you have to deal with (as well as) different levels of motivation,” Sloan said. 

Fall training provides the team with an opportunity to vary workouts while incorporating some of the same in-season workouts. 

“You measure the success of the workouts by how hard the people are training, how hard they work, and I thought we did a great job,” he said. 

Sloan said he is excited about the WSU Open because it allows him to receive feedback as to the progression of the team and determine adjustments that need to be made as the season advances.

“For a lot of the freshmen, just the fact that they have on the Cougar uniform is going to make them nervous,” Sloan said. “They’re a little anxious going into it, but it’s a fun meet for us.” 

Several returning Cougars will not compete in certain events, such as the 600-meter race, which is normally not in a track and field meet.  One of the standout returners poised for another breakout season is sophomore Kristine Felix, who set a WSU school record for pole vault and finished last season strong winning the pole vault Pac-12 championship. 

Freshman Dino Dodig, a native of Serbia, constantly trains. Sloan said Dodig could end up in the NCAA championships. 

“(Dodig) received good coaching in Serbia, and he’s got good fundamental skills,” Sloan said.  “Plus he’s very talented, so I think he’s going to be outstanding.”

The Cougars stayed relatively injury-free throughout the off-season, but poor health did become a factor for some.  Top female sprinter freshman Danielle Darden came down with an unknown sickness last spring that could affect her times in some of the early meets. 

Despite minor sicknesses, Sloan said this meet is an opportunity for the team members to display the hard work they’ve put in since the beginning of the school year.

The races this weekend include a 3,000-meter run and a coed 4×400 meter relay in addition to field events such as pole vault, high jump, triple jump, and shot put.  

The WSU Indoor Open will begin at 4 p.m. Friday and continue at 11 a.m. Saturday in the WSU Indoor Facility.