In more than one way, ISU track and field coach Corey Ihmels is confident that distance won’t be a problem this indoor season. In addition to a stellar group of distance runners, he and the rest of his team will be able to sleep in their own beds before seven of the eight indoor meets this season as ISU will host all indoor events, excluding the NCAA Indoor Championships, at the Lied Athletic Recreational Center.

“With the facility here we began asking ourselves why are we traveling [during the indoor season]?” Ihmels said. “It’s great because it gives us many more chances to showcase ourselves this season.”

The long distance on the men’s side will be led by returning All-Americans junior Hillary Bor and senior Guor Marial. Bor, who finished 37th in the NCAA cross country championships in fall, is hoping that the long distance runners will be able to use experience to their advantage.

“We have all been training together for so long now that everything is possible,” Bor said.

In addition to Bor and Marial, senior Kiel Uhl, a NCAA qualifier at the 10,000 meters last outdoor season, hopes to add his name to the list of All-Americans on the men’s squad this season.

“It’s a great group of guys and I know that if I can race to my full ability, there’s a good chance it [becoming an All-American] will happen,” Uhl said.

Ihmels, a former Iowa State All-American himself, hopes that if the men’s team can run in the top of the Big 12 it will equate to one of their primary goals this season, being ranked in the top 25 nationally. The Cyclones were ranked No. 89 in the USTFCCCA pre-season poll.

In addition to the long and middle distance runners, coach Ihmels hopes that a group of throwers under new coach Grant Wall and a young squad of sprinters and hurdlers can help alleviate some of the pressure on the distance runners.

“We’re really going to live and die by our distance guys,” Ihmels said.

Iowa State kicked off the season on Dec. 11, finishing first in five events at the ISU Holiday Preview. The Cyclones Men’s and Women’s teams will continue their non-conference schedule this weekend as they will host the ISU Open on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 9:50 a.m.

Throws— Ihmels and the ISU track and field team welcomed Grant Wall in September as the assistant coach in charge of throwing events. Wall, the head coach at Saginaw Valley State last season, brought more with him than just his nine years of coaching experience. Juniors Josh Koglin, a two-time Division II All-American, and Emily Nugent, a provisional qualifier in the weight and hammer throw, followed Wall as transfers from Saginaw Valley State.

Wall has implemented a very different training regimen than that of his predecessor, John Dagata, which focuses on lower repetitions of weight at a higher intensity. Wall hopes that the athletes can adjust quickly, but understands that it may take time for them to become accustomed to his ways.

“I know what the training can do, but it’s only the first year,” Wall said.

The void left by the departure of thrower Luke Pinkelman, a NCAA qualifier last season, to Nebraska will be filled by junior Robbie Utterback, sophomore Michael Zika and one of the Cyclones top recruits, freshman Daniel Swarbrick.

Sprints and Hurdles — What seems like a daunting task for sprints and hurdles coach Nate Wiens looks to him like a talented young group that has a tremendous future. Wiens’ men’s squad is comprised of 14 underclassmen and only three upperclassmen.

“It’s real exciting knowing that the fact that I look around and every person I’m looking at is a state champ,” Weins said.

In a group that is all relatively the same age, Wiens can’t point to a singular sprinter or hurdler that will stand alone as a top performer for the Cyclones this season.

“To be honest, any one of these guys can blow my doors off this year and increase their own expectations in what they are capable of,” Wiens said.

One of the sprinters that Wiens did mention, however, is sophomore Ian Warner. Warner finished sixth at the Drake Relays last season and has emerged as a leader even though he is only a sophomore.

“Ian works so hard and when you see leadership like that from a sophomore, you know the team is in good hands,” freshman sprinter Pat Lewis said.

Although Warner has a promising future ahead of himself, he wants this team to develop a mindset that focuses on what is coming up next.

“Knowing that you have to live up to everything every day, if you work hard every single day you’ll be expecting yourself to do big things in the meets right now,” Warner said.

Jumps and Multi-Events

The smallest of the groups on the Men’s team is the jumps and multi-events group led by second-year coach Pete Herber. Only four athletes, three jumpers and one multi-event runner compete for the team. The three jumpers, sophomores Anthony Johnson and Derek Alderks and junior Nick Pearson, will be aiming to qualify for their first Big 12 Indoor Championships. Pearson placed 17th at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the high jump last season.

Iowa Central transfer Jamal Currica will be taking on the multi-events for the Cyclones this season. Currica finished third in the heptathlon and fifth in the decathlon at the 2009 NJCAA Outdoor Championships.