After a successful indoor season in which three athletes were named All-Americans, the track and field team is off to a strong start to the outdoor season.

The Rams concluded with seven first place finishes and some personal bests despite arctic conditions at the Jerry Quiller Classic last Saturday, impressing head coach Brian Bedard.

“It was really tough for some of the kids through the wet, cold and slick conditions,”Bedard said. “You had to mentally be there, but most of our athletes saw it was an opportunity to compete in what could be the same conditions at our conference meet at Wyoming later this year.”

But first, the team will get to compete under a clear blue Fort Collins sky. CSU will host its first meet of the season, the Fum McGraw Quadrangular Saturday at 10 a.m. on Jack Christensen Track.

Wyoming, Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado will make the trip for Saturday’s competition. Look for competitive matchups between Buffalo Emily Hunsucker and Ram Jessica Sharbono in the hammer throw. The pair took first and second respectively last week and Sharbono tossed at personal best.

Similarly, the men will wage a fierce battle on the throwing ring, particularly between CU’s Alex Kizirian, who took first in both the shot put and discus last week, and CSU’s Jake Schneeberger, who came in second in shotput and JT Van Veen, who took third in discus.

On the track, both the CSU men and women finished first in the 400-meter relay, while CU swept the 400 meter dash. The meet will be full of tough competition on both sides for the Rams.

Both the men’s and women’s teams ended atop the regional competition at last year’s meet, but no two meets are ever the same. This will be Wyoming’s first meet of the season, so anticipate a strong start from them after an extra week to prepare.

Regardless of the final result, all four teams will be competing hard to start the season on the gun. Jack Christiansen will be live with activity all-day Saturday, and the team would love home-fan support.