HONOLULU— The University of Hawai'i track and field squad will be off and running on Saturday at the Spokane Invitational in Spokane, Washington, inside the Podium complex, marking the first of three trips to Spokane for the indoor season.
 
Saturday's event will be a true measuring stick as it will be the first indoor meet of the season, but with a large number of teams from throughout the northwest and west coast, spanning over several conferences competing.
 
"We're in a different position now than what we have been in the past," said head coach of track and field Madeleine Carleton. "We've been looked at as underdogs before, but now we have aspirations for championships and a high standard when we compete."
 
Entering the season, UH has more point scores in the conference returning than any other program, including sophomore Lilian Turban and junior Hallee Mohr, who not only competed at a high level in the conference championships but qualified for the NCAA West prelims a season ago. The duo will join a travel roster of 20 heading to the Evergreen State.
 
The Podium is a familiar haven for the Rainbow Wahine as they finished third overall in the MPSF Indoor Championships on February 19^th. Junior Alyssa Mae Antolin recorded a UH record time of 24.44 in the 200m dash at the facility in the conference championships, along with the third overall time at UH in the 60m dash at 7.73. Both events she is scheduled to compete in over the weekend. Antolin will also run a leg of the 4 x 400 relay, as she is scheduled to team up with junior Amy Warrington, junior Tierra Sydnor, and senior Kū'ulei Moku in the event. Antolin and Warrington ran in the same race of the championships in February, finishing fifth, with a time of 3:53.88 for sixth all-time in the UH record book.
 
In the field events, junior Montserrat Montanes i Arbo will look to make an impact as she is set to compete in both the shot put and weight throw. She placed fourth in the weight throw in February with a distance of 56'0 (17.07m), placing her third all-time at UH. She will compete alongside Mohr and graduate Victoria Solheim in both the shot put and weight throw.
 
Saturday's events will begin at 8 a.m. HT (10 p.m. PT).