The 2006 indoor track season kicks off today at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md.

“Going into the indoors season this year, we’ve got a great amount of depth and experience,” said Ron Helmer, director of track and field and cross country. “We can cover lots of events from the distance to sprints to jumps.”

On the women’s side, the team returns most of the group that earned runner-up honors at last year’s Big East indoor championships. Senior Nana Hanson-Hall returns to compete in her specialty event, the 800-meter run, while senior Kandance Ferguson returns to the compete in several sprints.

In field events, sophomore Buky Bamigboye returns after an impressive freshman campaign in which she broke the school record in the pentathlon and the 110m hurdles during the outdoor season. Senior Ashley Mondie led the team in the triple jump last year, surpassing the 40-foot mark numerous times.

In distance events, junior Maggie Infeld looks for another strong year after leading the squad in the 1000m, 3000m and mile events. Fellow distance star Elizabeth Maloy returns from stellar back-to-back seasons. Last spring, she made it to the finals of the NCAA outdoor mile, and this fall she finished in third place at the Big East cross country championships.

The women’s relays will take top billing this season as well. In the 4x400m relay, sprinters Jayne Penn, a senior, junior Alex Baptiste, junior Ashley Hubbard as well as Ferguson and Bamigboye were regulars on the medal-winning relay a year ago.

The 500m event indoor track event gives competitors the chance to step out of their normal range. Ferguson, Hubbard and Hanson-Hall all ran top times in this event during last year’s indoor season.

The men’s squad returns an impressive roster packed with a slew of distance runners. Senior Matt Debole and junior Dan Nunn topped the 3000m and 5000m lists last year and are set for another strong campaign. Sophomore Levi Miller is coming off of an impressive cross country campaign where he finished 11th at the NCAA Prenational meet and 12th at the Big East Championships.

Graduate student Stanley Lagrenade returns to lead the middle-distance contingent in both individual 800m run and in the distance medley relay.

Sophomore Kenny Mitchell, a wide receiver and kick returner for the football team, led the Hoyas in the sprints last year as he set school records in the 60m and 200m dashes.

Sophomore Andrew Bumbalough, a redshirt last winter, will compete in his first indoor season as a Hoya. Last spring, Bumbalough qualified for the NCAA championships in the 5000m race.

Sophomore Terrell Gissendanner returns from an impressive freshman campaign, leading the team in the triple jump and setting a school record in the 60-m hurdles. He also notched a third-place finish in the event at the 2006 Big East championships.

Said Assistant Coach Pat Henner, “It’s all about putting together the work we’ve done to lay the groundwork for a great track season.