Both the Wayne State men’s and women’s track and field teams will open up their seasons at the South Dakota State University Holiday Open Classic in Brookings, S.D. on Friday.

The men’s team will be returning many of their top performers from last year. The men placed 8th at last year’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) indoor championships.

“On the guys’ side we should realistically shoot for top four in the conference,” Head Coach Marlon Brink said.

The top returners are Josh Spenner, Braxton Adams, Clay Kramper, Robert Sullivan, Richard Sweeny, Matt Nemec, Nick Fly and Brady Metz.

Spenner was 3rd in both the pole vault and heptathlon last year at conference. Adams is a sprinter who was a national qualifier in the 60 meter dash two years ago and holds the Wayne State record in that event. Kramper was the runner-up in the 200 meter dash at last year’s outdoor conference meet.

Wayne State will also be bolstered by the return of Derek Lahm. Lahm sat out last season as a medical redshirt. He is a major all-around contributor as a sprinter and jumper and holds the Wayne State record in the decathlon.

The women’s team members are looking to improve on their 12th place finish at conference last year.

“We should be able to place around 8th to 10th at conference,” Brink said.

The women’s team will be helped by the return of Michaela Dendinger and Mary Alderson, who both sat out as redshirts last year. As a sophomore, Dendinger was a national qualifier in both the weight throw and shot put.

Other key contributors for Wayne State will be long sprinter Melissa Kroll, sprinter Rachel Rauner, jumpers Shelby Roth, and Riana Noelle, and sprinter Mackenzie Sederburg.

“I’m just excited to see everyone race,” senior Fly said. “We’ve improved at every conference meet since I’ve been here and everyone’s been working really hard.”

The Holiday Open Classic will take place Friday and Saturday. After that, runners will get a month long break before continuing with meets starting in mid-January.