MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — After a solid 2023-24 track and field campaign, the Marauders are looking to pick up right where they left off and build back towards the top of the conference this indoor season.
 
The Millersville indoor track and field team used a sixth-place finish to vault themselves into third place at the outdoor conference meet, but still accomplished plenty during the indoor competition season. The Marauders made 19 entries in the program record book across 11 different events, with many of those athletes returning and looking to improve on their marks from last year. Last year, head coach Andy Young said having a larger-than-usual roster would be a challenge that his staff welcomed, and this year is no different.
 
"Cross country was the biggest team we've had, and now track and field is going to also be the biggest team we've ever had," Young said. "We're trying to get a sense as coaches individually where everyone is at with their training readiness and what we needed to do this fall. Akil [Stokes] with the sprints and jumps group has been spending a lot of time testing them, and Brittany [Hartman] has been doing a lot of one-on-one sessions to see where our throwers are at. I think we could have a very good team, and this first meet will be a great test to see where we actually are right now."
 
Young forecasts the majority of the team's points coming from the sprints and jumps events, and for good reason. The groups boast depth and top-end talent that finished the year strong. Young envisions that they should be able to continue their upwards trajectories to the top of the record books and conference leaderboards. 
 
"It's a deep, deep area for our team right now," Young said. "We have a lot of people that we're hopeful that can develop here or get back to certain levels."
 
Leading the group on the track will be the likes of Aubrey Sydnor and Katelyn Murphy, two standouts looking to cement their spots at the top of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Young also made mention of Shelby Derkosh and Lily LaBure, two runners who can help make up the second half of a one-two punch in the 400-yard dash and 60-meter hurdles. There are a handful of newcomers that Young is excited to see perform as well. Jai'Ana Ingram-Shannon, Jillian Sydnor, Victoria Massoom, and Milan Snell headline a freshman class that has the potential to make an immediate contribution for the Marauders and control the sprints events.
 
With the jumps, it's tough to ask for a better starting point than what the Marauders enter the season with. Darian Hauf is coming off a second-place finish at the indoor conference meet and her third consecutive outdoor championship in pole vault, and her classmate Megan Malecki earned All-PSAC honors for the first time last spring in the event as well. 
 
Hauf has always set lofty goals for herself and has typically been able to clear them. This year, both her and Malecki have set their sights on national recognition.
 
"[Hauf] really wants to get back to the top [of the PSAC] this year," Young said. "She's been on the national list and never made the indoor meet. Megan obviously had a big outdoor season and would like to build on that as well, and hopefully increase her confidence in herself so that she can. She's been jumping really well lately as well. They both have done the work — they have always done the work to put themselves into position to be towards the top of the conference right now."
 
Rounding out the jumps is Chanel Hercules, Aubrey Bitner, and Danika Bolinsky. The trio of freshmen showed potential in both seasons last year, particularly Hercules as she finished the indoor season as the new program record holder in long jump. The newcomer capped off her first indoor conference championship by breaking a 13-year-old record with a jump of 18-3 to earn All-PSAC.
 
The transition over from cross country to track and field will be different this year, as two staples in the Marauders lineup wrapped up their careers with the conclusion of the cross country season. Morgan Janiuk and Hannah Sweda leave big shoes to fill, as both scored points for Millersville at the PSAC Indoor Championships in 2024. While their absences may be felt initially, Young is confident their impact will stick with his younger runners to influence the hard work necessary towards achieving the mindset that is crucial to have in order to succeed this time of year.
 
"They know how to train at a higher level because of Morgan and Hannah," Young believes. "I'm excited to see some of them get after it in track because for a lot of them, it's a stronger season for them than cross country."
 
Bri Pollock stands out to Young as someone who can step up for the team in its efforts to replace the two. But, Young added that it will likely be an effort by committee to replace the production from the pair, though he sees the opportunity for others to step up with shorter races compared to cross country. 
 
A luxury that the coaching staff gets to work with this season is the entire group of athletes from the throws events are returning for the 2024-25 season. Though the group primarily focuses on the outdoor throwing events like the hammer throw and discus, Sarah Hessler made record book entries in both shotput and weight throw last season. Maddy Downs' best mark narrowly trailed that of Hessler's in the shotput, and Seya Trujillo's personal best was good for 10^th place in the weight throw leaderboard.
 
With a returning squad that is capable of achieving even more this go around, Young sees the chance for the indoor season to be more than just a lead up into the outdoor season.
 
"It's very helpful to have a group of returners who understood what the training looked like, did the training over the summer, and came back at a higher level than last year," Young said. "I think last year was a little bit of a learning curve, just to get used to having higher expectations. And I think they want to do a bit better this year as a group. So if we get a solid showing out of that group indoors, that portends really good performances come the outdoor season."
 
Young and his squad will get their first taste of action this weekend at the Bison Opener hosted at Bucknell University before a lengthy layoff over winter break. The first day of the meet is solely the women's heptathlon, which will start at 5:15 p.m. tomorrow evening. The rest of the events will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 starting with the weight throw and concluding with the 4x400-meter relay.