HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i women's track and field team officially kicked off their 2004 season this morning at Cooke Field, with the first of four Sunrise Meets. Although the meet was not scored, it was the first opportunity for the returning athletes and the debuting newcomers to apply the skills they've been working on.

"It was a sort of an early season wake-up call for everybody on the team, they've been training since the fall and this was their first competitive experience," said Head Coach Carmyn James. "It helps fine-tune, get people ready, and get them into a competitive experience."

Today's event was open to the public, allowing both high school athletes and masters in the community of all ages and skill levels to participate. UH filled the majority of the bill and turned in numerous highlights.

Newcomer Ashley Monfort, who joins the squad from San Jose, Calif., had a shinning debut today. Monfort notched the top finish in the 300m with her finishing time of 41.68. She also recorded the inaugural Cooke Field record in the 200m Hurdle event, placing first with a time of 28.66.

Senior Olivia Smoody got off to a great start this morning, winning the high jump with a height of 1.60m. Fellow teammate Amanda Page also fared well today, as she notched the top finish in the shot put with a mark of 11.39m. Following closely behind Page was fellow sophomore Novelle Murray, who finished in second with a score of 11.16m.

The 1600m-relay team, consisting of sophomore Jennifer Ciochetti, and freshmen Candace Rosenthal, Eva Tanner, and Ku`ulei Karratti celebrated a victory as they completed the event in first, with a time of 4:25.77.

Aside from getting the athletes into the competition mode, today's event will also help James to select athletes to represent UH in next week's Huskie Invitational in Seattle, Wash.

"We have about 45 people on our rooster and we need to pick 15 to go to the University of Washington Invitational next weekend, so it's largely going to be based on the results that happened today," said James.