PORTALES, N.M. – The indoor track & field season is finally here as Eastern New Mexico is on the road for the Friday Night Kick Axe Open hosted by Northern Arizona University. Before the team puts on their spikes and takes center stage, please take a look at the Eight Lane Preview:

1.) Fresh Faces – With a new season comes the introduction of plenty of newcomers on this year's squad. The women's team will have eight Hounds competing for the first time this weekend while the men will have twelve in action for the opening meet of 2023.

2.) Smith's Strength – Tamia Smith is back for ENMU. The senior thrower holds the program's second-best result in the indoor shotput with a 12.46m throw three seasons ago at the New Mexico Team Open. She tied that mark at last year's LSC Indoor Championships. Her 14.15m toss in the weight is the fifth-best in program history. She accomplished this feat in 2022 at the New Mexico Team Open.

3.) PV Paige – Another key returner for Eastern is Paige Graham. The junior pole vaulter holds the third highest mark in ENMU indoor record books with a vault of 3.08m at the 2022 New Mexico Team Open. She is expected to be a key contributor throughout the whole season.

4.) Mile At A Time – Lethabo Seema will be running the mile for the Hounds this season after having a great 2022 campaign. She holds the fifth top mark at ENMU with a 5:12.40 time at the Texas Tech Shootout in 2022. She is also a key member in relay competitions.

5.) Go The Distance – After a solid cross country season, Devis Cheruiyot is ready to hit the track in 2023. One of his major roles in 2022 came in relays, but his best marks came in the 800m. He holds two of the top three times at ENMU in the event. At the 2022 LSC Indoor Championships he ran a 1:56.19 and at the 2022 UNM Team Open he crossed the line in 1:56.42.

6.) Proper Introductions – The throws squad on the men's side will feature three new freshmen – Alex Williams, Jesse Woodruff, and Noe Ybaben. For the women, Smith will be joined by freshmen Jha'Niah Johnson and Kennedy Ulmer. All six throwers are expected to achieve high marks throughout the season.

7.) Schedule of Events – Field events will begin at 1 p.m. at NAU with the pole vault. The long jump, triple jump, shot put, weight throw, and high jump will follow. On the track, festivities kick off at 3 p.m. The meet is expected to wrap up around 5 p.m. For live results, please click on this link.

8.) Indoor Review – In 2022, ENMU women took sixth at the LSC Indoor Championships and the men took ninth. Seema came one place shy of scoring a point in the mile and Alisha Hayde, De la Rosa, and Seema earned two points in the 4x400.