The first big meet of the indoor season happens Saturday with the UW Indoor Preview...

All nine of the state's NCAA Division I and II schools are in action Saturday as the University of Washington hosts the UW Indoor Preview at the Dempsey Indoor.

Close to 1000 athletes are expected to run, jump and throw on the Dempsey's 307 meter Mondo oval, with the first event on the track slated for 8:45 am with early heats of the 3000 meters, while the first field events starts at 9 am--the women's pole vault, triple jump and weight throws, and the men's long jump.

Action goes on all day, with the 4 x 400 relays closing out the competition just past 5:00 pm.

The biggest name entered in the meet is 2012 Olympic long jump champion and seven-time world champ Brittney Reese (left/photo by Paul Merca), who is entered in the 60 meter dash.

Reese, who currently trains out of Chula Vista, CA., is no stranger to opening her season at the Dempsey with the 60 meter dash. Reese won the 60 at the 2018 UW Indoor Preview.



Brittney has added motivation heading into the 2020 season, as she did not get out of the qualifying round at last year's IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Doha.

With 2020 an Olympic year, several local athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics are using the UW Indoor Preview as the first step to returning for another shot at the Olympics.

Curtis HS alum Andrea Geubelle-Norris (left/photo by Paul Merca) is the first Rio veteran competing, as she goes in the women's triple jump at 9 am. Geubelle-Norris has competed sparingly over the last two seasons, and has moved back to Lawrence, Kansas to train at the University of Kansas, where she was a multi-time NCAA champion.

Newport HS and University of Washington alum Jeremy Taiwo, who competed in the decathlon in Rio, returns to his home track to compete in the men's long jump (9 am), as well as the pole vault and the 60 meter hurdles. Taiwo competed very sparingly over the last two seasons, but is now training under Husky associate head coach and 2004 Olympic pole vault silver medalist Toby Stevenson.

Portuguese Olympian at 1500 meters and former NCAA 1500m champ at Mississippi State Marta Pen Freitas drops down in distance to run the women's 800. Pen Freitas is also scheduled to run the 3000.

Her training partner and 2016 French Olympian Justine Fedronic was slated to run the mile and the 800, but withdrew.

As a disclaimer, entries are always subject to change.

EVENTS TO WATCH:

Track

Women's 60: Headliner and 2012 Olympic long jump gold medalist Brittney Reese potentially goes against UCLA alum Kylie Price, USC alum Destinee Brown, and the Oregon trio of Brianna Duncan, Jasmin Reed, and Iman Brown. Iman Brown is a graduate of Seattle's Garfield HS and ran at Washington her freshman year before transferring to Oregon,

Men's 1000: 2016 Olympic 1500 meter finalist Ben Blankenship of the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene goes against teammates Drew Piazza & Vince Ciattei.

Blankenship is running the same double that Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia ran in this meet last year--the 1000 and the mile. In last year's meet, Kejelcha ran an unlooked for 3:52.61 in the mile 40 minutes after he ran a facility record 2:18.34 in the 1000.

Men's & Women's Miles: Washington alum Eleanor Fulton runs against 2019 world championship steeplechase team member Allie Ostrander of the Brooks Beasts. 2015 Canadian world championships team member Erin Teschuk, and Oiselle's Sadi Henderson will also be in the mix.

The men's mile features Blankenship against Seattle resident Sam Prakel, along with the Huskies' Mick Stanovsek, Washington State's NCAA qualifier Paul Ryan (who is running unattached), and Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts, who was on the US world championship team in the 800 in Doha.

Adding to the intrigue is that since the opening of the Dempsey in 2002, the 4-minute mile barrier has been broken 197 times by 141 different runners. Seven runners in the field have broken 4 minutes, so there's a good possibility that number 200 can go down.

Women's 3000: There's a strong possibility that multiple women can break 9 minutes. Washington Hall of Fame member Katie Mackey, who was eighth at the world indoor championships two years ago, runs against fellow Husky Hall of Famer Mel Lawrence. Also in the field are 2019 Canadian world championships steeplechaser Regan Yee, along with Portuguese Olympian Marta Pen Freitas, and her Brooks Beast teammate Allie Buchalski. The Huskies' Katie Rainsberger will also mix it up with the pros.

Men's 800: 2018 world indoor championships silver medalist Drew Windle of the Brooks Beasts makes his 2020 debut, after a sub-par 2019 season in which he struggled with injuries.

Field

Women's pole vault: The Huskies' Olivia Gruver is the one to watch. Gruver set the outdoor collegiate record when she cleared 15-6.25 (4.73m) last spring at Stanford. In her final season of eligibility for the Huskies, the transfer from Kentucky and two-time outdoor NCAA champ will try to assert herself as the one to beat going into the NCAA indoor championships in March.

Men's high jump: Washington State alum Peyton Fredrickson, who competed at last spring's NCAA championships, goes against NCAA scorer Sean Lee of UCLA, NCAA qualifier Ben Milligan of Oregon, and NCAA Division II qualifier Tyler Cronk of Saint Martin's.

Men's shot put: UCLA's Nate Esparza, who was 7th at the NCAA championships, goes against Jonah Wilson of the Huskies, who is redshirting this winter and competing unattached.

Others to watch: Eastern Washington's Keshun McGee, an NCAA qualifier for the Eagles in both the long and triple jumps; UCLA'S Alyssa Wilson in both the shot put and weight throw; and British world championships decathlete Tim Duckworth, who will pole vault.

If you can't come to the Dempsey, media partner RunnerSpace.com ($) will stream the meet live.

The entry lists, and time schedule for the meet are available here.

In other action this weekend, the majority of the Washington State team not competing in Seattle heads off to Nampa, Idaho for the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Boise State University.

Washington State's release is available here.

A small group of runners will go to San Diego to compete in the USA Track & Field national cross country championships at Mission Bay Park, with spots on the US national team competing in the Pan Am Cross Country Championships in Victoria, BC on the line.

Among those entered in the national championship race include Inglemoor HS alum Tansey Lystad, Bellingham native David Elliott, Kirkland native Dillon Maggard, and Spokane native Nick Hauger.

The entries for Saturday's USATF National Cross Country Championships are available here.

NOTE:  The sports information offices of the University of Washington, Washington State University, and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.