The ISU men’s and women’s indoor track teams head to Lincoln, Neb., this weekend to compete in the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Both the women’s and men’s head coaches feel very confident about their teams, even though they are littered with underclassmen.

“We’re a fairly young team, but we’ve had a good indoor season so far,” women’s head coach Dick Lee said.

He said it is tough to predict how the team will fare because of their inexperience.

“There are always some question marks as to how a young team will respond in a meet like this,” Lee said.

The Cyclone women are led by four-time All-American high jumper Gina Curtis-Rickert, and shot-putter Susan Sherman.

“Gina currently has the best high jump in the country,” Lee said.

Curtis-Rickert, a senior, has annihilated her competition this season by taking six first-place accolades and winning by an average of nearly 1 1/5 feet. She also had the best high jump in the NCAA indoor season at the Iowa State Classic with a jump of 6-3 1/2. That mark equaled the performances of former NCAA Champion Gwen Wentland and former Olympian Karol Damon.

Lee is also looking for a strong performance from Sherman in the throwing events.

“She could place as high as the top three in the 20-pound weight throw and top five in the shot put,” Lee said.

Lee knows that placing well at the championships will not be easy.

“The Big 12 is notoriously one of the best conferences in the country,” Lee said. “It’s going to be really tough to make the finals.”

Texas comes in as the favorite with Nebraska close behind.

“As young as we are, a top-six finish would be great,” Lee said.

Men’s head coach Steve Lynn also feels good about his young team. Of the 24 men competing, half of them are first-time competitors at the Big 12 Championships.

“We’ve been improving every meet and we’re competing better than we have all year,” Lynn said.

Lynn said that one area of concern is that the team is missing a few jumpers due to injuries.

“Daniel Kaczmarczyk, a potential champion in the long jump, is gone as well as high jumper Andy Kohler,” Lynn said.

Jumper Gil Ridnour, a transfer from Iowa, looks to make up for the losses of the two.

“He’s been our most pleasant surprise all year,” Lynn said. “He’s ready to break out soon.”

Lynn is also looking for strong performances from sprinters Jerod Torrey and Jered Graham along with middle distance runners Craig Cartier and Chris Francois.

Along with Lee, Lynn said he knows the Big 12 is one of the toughest conferences in the country.

“The only conference comparable to us is the SEC,” he said. Lynn said that Texas and Nebraska come in as co-favorites with Colorado, NCAA cross country champions, hot on their heels.

“It’s going to be a battle over there,” Lynn said.

Lynn remains optimistic.

“I think we could surprise a lot of people,” he said.

“Some guys could head in there not ranked at all and really shock some people.”

The one thing that Lynn wants to take away from the championships is a full head of steam going into the upcoming outdoor track season.

“I want to at least score more points than we did last year,” Lynn said. “It would be a very positive thing heading into the outdoor season.”