WSU’s indoor track and field season gets underway this afternoon in Pullman at the Seventh Annual WSU Indoor Open.

Today and Saturday, the true season begins at WSU’s indoor practice facility, where Eastern Washington, Idaho, Sacramento State and Utah State will all be competing.

“We are excited to put on the uniform and start measuring throws and recording times. Everyone is excited to start competition,” WSU track Head Coach Rick Sloan said.

On the women’s side, senior Lorraine King is the team captain. She placed 20th at the 2007 400-meter hurdles and earned a spot on the 2007 NCAA all-academic team. All-American sophomore sprinter Anna Layman heads up the sprinters this year, and freshman thrower Anna Albrecht is one of the Cougars’ top newcomers. The Pullman native won a Dec. 4 intrasquad meet.

“There is enough anxiety putting on the Cougar uniform for the first time and being in collegiate competition, so it helps that they are at their own facility,” Sloan said.

There are many returning NCAA Championships participants. On the men’s side, the big story of the year is sophomore Jeshua Anderson. A multiple-sport athlete, playing both football and running track, he won the NCAA Championships in the 400 hurdles last year.

“The 800-meter race should be interesting because you have many runners moving up, such as Jeshua Anderson, and coming down to race in this race,” Sloan said.

The men’s team captain, senior Moreno Zapata, placed 20th at the NCAA Championships, competing in the triple jump. All-American junior high jumper Trent Arrivey is returning to a strong group of jumpers. There are some new faces on the pole vault side of the team, with redshirt sophomore Beau Carrillo being the oldest of the vaulters.

Today is just the beginning of the season for the Cougars. The team will later travel to Seattle for a meet against its cross-state rival at the Husky Invitational. The indoor championships are also a big meet that makes way for the outdoor season. Other important Pac-10 meets this season include events at Stanford and USC. The biggest meets are the Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, Ore. and the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Fayetteville, Ark.

“People are looking to see where they are and having competition against other schools,” Sloan said. “We want to do well and build up for the outdoor season and the championships.”