TOWSON, Md. – Indoor track season begins for the Towson University women's indoor track team as they travel to Lewisburg Pennsylvania for the Bison Opener hosted by Bucknell on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Towson will compete against American, Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Lafayette College, Lock Haven University, Mount St. Mary's, Penn State, Shippensburg, St. Francis (PA), University of Pitt-Johnstown and West Chester.
For senior,
Lauren Coleman the word excitement is an understatement. Due to an ankle injury last year Coleman had to sit out for the entire year. Luckily, she made a full recovery and is ready to compete with her teammates this year.
"My teammates have been training all preseason and are excited to display their talents at our first meet," said Coleman. "This is a very talented and well-rounded team and I am truly honored to be a part of this."
The marketing and intelligence major, currently in graduate school is ready to help continue to raise the bar that Coach Jackson has already set.
"From day one, Coach Jackson has set the bar high," said Coleman. "Everyone is hungry and is holding themselves accountable to perform at the highest level possible."
"We want to win a CAA championship this year and being so close last year has really motivated everyone to work harder in the summer and preseason months."
Towson will have a small break during the holidays but that does not stop the preparation that Coleman and her teammates have for the rest of the meets this upcoming season.
"I am really excited for all the track meets because we get to travel and compete against many great competitors from across the country," said Coleman.
All of the team has goals they are looking to accomplish and Coleman is determined to help them do it.
"We want to accomplish some new goals this year such as winning both indoor and outdoor ECAC Championships as well as the outdoor CAA Championship," said Coleman. "We also have some really great athletes on our team who have the ability to accomplish qualifying for regional and national championship meets."
As the season progresses' and you get to watch Lauren compete do not be confused if you see someone who looks just like her doing the same events because for this year she gets to throw alongside her younger sister Georgia.
"My biggest motivation is my teammates and that I also have a younger sister on the team," said Coleman.
"I know that if I take care of business in the ring, I am contributing to the team's overall success. Winning as a team is such a great feeling and I would love to experience that again."
Tigers Last Time Out
Towson wrapped up the indoor season with a third-place finish in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships. The Tigers had two 10-point victories in the pole vault by
Hayley Horvath and in the weight throw by
Michella Obijiaku.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson returns 34 student-athletes from last year including seven seniors in
Zellie Charles,
Shelby Francis,
Melissa Graham,
Victoria Jones-Alleyne,
Michella Obijiaku,
Helnsarah Penda and L.Coleman. This senior class has already made a name for their selves in the different Towson record books and will contribute to making the 2019-20 season one to remember.
Towson also brings in 11 freshman that help round out the roster and will bring some depth to each event.
Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
- For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
- Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
- Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
- Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
Looking Ahead
Towson will be in action Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Great Dane Classic in Albany, New York.
