The indoor track and field season begins for the Wildcats on Friday when they travel to Lubbock to compete in the Red Raider Invite.

Jack Marshall set a school record in the 200 meters at 20.84 seconds at this meet in the 2023 season.

This year’s team is young, primarily consisting of freshmen and sophomores who have little to no experience at the Div. I level. First-year head coach Miles Smith has been preparing them for this meet since the fall.

“This is our first, for most of us, this is our first time competing,” Smith said. “So, getting them ready to expect, getting them ready to compete. It’s really been mind frame, mind prep, and competitive focus.”

Smith also has been focusing on the level of competition that the team will be facing in this meet and future meets.

“Our weekly talks are about the difference between high school and Division 1 running,” Smith said. “Keeping in the back of their mind that we’re in Big 12 country, we’re in SEC country as well. So, every meet that we go to we’re going to see Olympians, we’re going to see All-Americans.”

The meet could set the tone for building the foundation in building up the program for Smith, who previously coached at Purdue University.

ACU has 54 national titles in track and field with the latest championship being won in 2011 before the university moved to the Division 1 level. With Smith as the head coach, the hope is he will be able to restore the program to the winning ways of the 2000s.

“We are still building, and we have a lot of building to do. And so, our focus has just been getting our culture together, creating a more, just a more cohesive, a cohesively competitive group”, said Smith. “And identifying more talent to add to so that when we look up in two years, those who are here right now have made some groundwork and set the bar high for those who are coming in.”

After the meet, the team will have a week to prepare before they return to Lubbock for the Stan Scott Invite on January 31.