The Detroit Titans indoor track and field season will begin tomorrow with both the men's and women's teams in action at the Blue and Gold Invitational. The meet will begin at 5 p.m. at the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind.

Head coach Guy Murray is excited for the upcoming season. “I'm looking forward to this year,” Murray explained. “I hope that both teams can get off to a good start. This meet gives us a chance to see where our athletes are at with their fall training. December meets can be seen as an exhibition, but it still counts. The positive things from the meet stick, and it allows everyone to shake the rust off.”

Detroit was far from rusty in last year's meet. Earnest Cleary (Detroit, MI, Ferndale ) won the 60-meter dash with a new record time of 6.86, while Patrick Liederbach (Petoskey, MI, Petoskey) broke his own record in the 5000m crossing the finish line in 14:37.12. Cleary has won the 60-meter dash the last two years at the Blue and Gold Invite. A year ago, he broke the record held by Earle Lloyd. Lloyd ran a 6.91 in 1984.

Junior Aviram Campbell (Yale, MI, Yale) also had a career day for Detroit in the 60-meter hurdles. Campbell moved into seventh place in school history clocking in a career best 8.47.

“The men's team is a veteran group this year,” Murray said. “We will look to have multiple guys qualified for preliminary rounds. Obviously setting records in December is a good sign, and we had some guys do that last year. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”

The women's team is a different story as 25 of the 33 athletes are underclassmen. “Friday will be the start of the learning process,” Murray said. “It will be good to get them in race competition.” 

Sequoyia Calhoun (Belleville, MI, Belleville) returns to Detroit for her senior season after setting the indoor record in the 400-meters a year ago. Calhoun set a school record finishing in 57.81, breaking the mark of 57.83 set by Nicole Callaway in 1997.

“Sequoyia ran great towards the end of last year,” Murray added. “Hopefully she can pick up where she left off and shine early in this season.”

The indoor schedule features many traditional sites where the Titans have competed in the past. Many of the meets take place in the state of Michigan. The Titans will have one more meet before winter break when they travel to Warren, Mich. to run in the Macomb Opener on Dec. 11. The outdoor season will begin on March 30 with a trip to Williamsburg, Va.

Meet Notes: Other teams competing in the Blue and Gold Invitational include Marquette, DePaul and Bethel… There will be no team scoring.