March 15, 2005

The Bobcats return a strong contingent of athletes from last year's Indoor and Outdoor Southland Conference championship teams.

Former conference champion and multiple All-SLC performer Yvette Green returns for her senior season after red-shirting last year. She along with Shalesha Lowe and transfer Kimberlin Lowery are the lone seniors on a young team. Along with Green, Lowry and Lowe, a strong contingent of sophomores and juniors return, including SLC Champions Caroline Wolf, Yuliya Stashkiv, Liudmila Litvinova, Alicia Anthony, Jacque Iwuchukwu and Amber Everett.

Texas State also had a banner recruiting year with the incoming class headlined by Junior World Champion hurdler Katya Kostetskaya who will also vie for high scoring honors as a rookie by competing in a number of events.

The women successfully defended their indoor conference title in 2004 and will look to make it four indoor titles in a row this year and two in a row outdoors.

Jumps
Former SLC Field Athlete of the Year and SLC Long Jump and Triple Jump Champion LaJuana Lovett has graduated, but this year's group of jumpers is still one of the most talented in the league. They will look to continue their dominance after a 2004 campaign that saw Texas State jumpers claim nine All-SLC finishes and two SLC titles. Bobcat women finished first, second and third in the long jump at the outdoor SLC championships and first and second in the triple jump.

All-SLC performer Green returns after her red-shirt year to lead the long and triple jumpers after scoring in the long jump and triple jump every year she has competed. Iwuchukwu had a tremendous 2004 season and a great off-season and has emerged as the top triple jumper in the conference. She claimed her first conference championship in the event at the 2004 outdoor championships.

Former Division II All-American and SLC Champion Anthony will be a top threat in the long jump again during the indoor season after finishing third at the 2004 outdoor championships. She will also compete in the triple jump. Anthony will redshirt during the outdoor season and return as a top threat for the 2006 season. SLC runner-up Camilla Davis will once again be counted on in the long jump while Wolf will also add depth in the triple jump when needed.

Kostetskaya and fellow freshmen Tamequa Poole and RaShandra Harris will add depth in the jumps after successful high school careers. Kostetskaya will compete in both jumps and has the potential to score high points in both events, while Poole will focus on the triple jump and Harris will focus on the long jump.

Throws
Juniors Sarah Baker and Ashlea Byrom return this season and will be counted on to contribute points in the shot and discus after both scored high points at the conference meet last season.

Baker has finished in the top six in the SLC each year in the discus and is the top returning thrower in the SLC this year. She will also be counted on for high points in the weight throw and hammer throw, both of which are new events this season.

Byrom is a shot put specialist, but will also compete in the weight throw, hammer throw and discus. Sophomore Megan Sweeney improved greatly during her freshman season and will be counted on to add depth in all the throwing events.

Multi-Events
Freshmen Tamara Koepp and Poole, along with sophomore Lindsey Smith will get a look at the indoor pentathlon this season. This will be a new event for each of them, but all of them are talented in multiple event areas and should have a chance to contribute. The same group will get a look at the outdoor heptathlon for the SLC Championships in May.

Sprints and Relays
The sprints and relays group at Texas State has been perhaps the most dominant group in the Southland Conference over the last several seasons. Though perennial SLC Champion LaJuana Lovett has moved on, a very talented group returns for another successful year. Seniors Anthony, Lowery and Green, junior Amber Everett, sophomores Andie Dominguez and Camilla Davis, along with freshmen Nicole Lawson and Harris will all be important contributors in the sprints and relays this year.

Anthony was an All-Southland Conference performer in the 100 and 200 meters last year and ran on the SLC Champion 4x100 meter relay team. Everett ran the third leg on the 2003 school record-setting 4x100 relay, as well as first leg on the 2004 SLC champion squad. Jumper Green, who was also a member of the 2003 school record team, also returns and is a top threat in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Lowery, a transfer from Grambling State, will be looked upon to add leadership and depth to the group and will be counted on to score points both indoors and outdoors. Davis returns after an injury plagued 2004 season that saw her compete in only a few meets when she was completely healthy. She will be counted on for top points this season.

The group was also bolstered by the additions of high school state finalists Harris and Lawson. Their development will be a key to the success of the sprint group this season. Anthony will red-shirt the outdoor season and return in 2006 as the top sprinter in the SLC. Dominguez will red-shirt the entire season and will return in 2006.

Sophomore Litvinova returns as the premier 400 meter runner in the conference after a dominant freshman season that saw her claim both the indoor and outdoor 400 meter titles and anchor the indoor and outdoor 4x400 meter relay teams to SLC titles. She also finished third indoors and seventh outdoors in the 200 meters and ran the second leg of the champion 4x100 meter relay team. She will red-shirt indoors, but will return for the outdoor season.

Litvinova, along with junior Courtney Fischer and freshman Courtney Baker, will form a talented group of quarter-milers. Fischer placed both indoors and outdoors last season and ran on the indoor and outdoor conference champion 4x400 meter relay squads. She is one of the top returning threats in the event and is one of the most consistent performers in the SLC. Baker was a Class 5A state finalist in 2003 and 2004 and comes to Texas State as one of the most highly regarded 400 meter runners in Texas. She will be counted on to contribute high points indoors and outdoors. She will also compete in the 200 meters. Kostetskaya will occasionally compete in the 400 meters as well and has a personal best of 53.72.

The 4x400 relay, which has won the last six conference championships and set the Indoor SLC record in 2004, could be the best in school history and is expected to make a strong run at the school and conference records once again. Kostetskaya and junior Denisha Goldsmith will join Fischer, Litvinova, Baker, Lowery, Everett and Harris as potential members of the relay.

The 4x200 and sprint medley relay teams will also be strong and will have a chance to break the school records in both events.

Hurdles
Blue Chip recruit Kostetskaya joins the group this year and will make an immediate impact on the SLC and National level. Kostetskaya, from St. Petersburg, Russia, was one of the most highly sought after recruits in the nation last year. She will run all hurdle events indoors and outdoors and should be a dominant force in the SLC.

Smith, an SLC finalist in 2004, will be a top threat for the `Cats in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles. Poole and Koepp will also be counted on to score quality points in both events. Both were state qualifiers in high school and Koepp claimed multiple state championships in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles.

The Bobcats will once again have a talented and deep 400 hurdle crew. Kostetskaya was the Junior World Champion in the 400 hurdles last season in Grosseto, Italy. Her time of 55.55 would have placed her fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season. She will be counted on to lead a talented group of intermediate hurdlers. Senior Shalesha Lowe, who was All-Conference in 2003 and an SLC finalist last season, returns as one of the best in the SLC. Sophomore Anya Bokeria also returns after her sixth place finish in 2003 and strong 2004 campaign. They along with Koepp will be counted on to contribute quality points in a traditionally strong event for the `Cats.

Distance
This year's distance crew is one of the youngest in the conference after five seniors graduated last year. Stashkiv, the 2003 Division II National Champion in the 3,000 meters and runner-up in the 1,500 meters, returns after a successful sophomore campaign that saw her claim the indoor 5,000 meter title and earn All-SLC honors in the 10,000 meters at the outdoor meet. Stashkiv is the Ukrainian junior national record holder in the 5,000 meters. She remains one of the top distance runners in the conference and can run all events from 1,500 meters to 10,000 meters.

Senior Melissa Aguilar returns to add depth in 5,000 and 10,000 meters this season. The rest of the distance group is made up of all freshmen, including Tenley Determan, Kirby West, Claudia Vera, and Stephanie Flores. All will be counted on to contribute to the distance squad. West will red-shirt the indoor season, but will return for the outdoor season as a top threat in the 1,500 meter run.

Denisha Goldsmith is the top returning runner for the Bobcats in the 800 meters. She was third at the outdoor SLC championships last year and will look to fight for the title this year. Kostetskaya will also run the 800 meters for the `Cats and with her personal best of 2:05.75 is the top rated runner in the SLC.