BISMARCK, N.D. – It's an exciting weekend for the Minot State track and field teams, and not just because they return to competition after more than a month off.

This Saturday, when the Beavers resume the indoor track and field season in Bismarck at the Marauders Indoor Opener, it will be the debut for new Minot State head track and field coach Erik Stevens. Action at the Marauders Indoor Opener gets underway at 11 a.m. at the meet hosted by the University of Mary.

"I'm excited to get to see our student-athletes in action," said Stevens, who comes to Minot State after 4 seasons as head cross country coach at North Texas and 3 ½ seasons as an assistant coach for the Mean Green track and field teams.

"I tend to be a pretty calm person on the emotional side of things when it comes to competing," he added of his making his debut as Minot State's head coach. "I am going into this weekend with a mindset of observing how we approach competitive preparation and situations so I can continue to understand our student-athletes and know what we need to develop."

While it will be the first look at the Beavers in competition for Coach Stevens, for many Minot State student-athletes, it will also be the first competition of the season, as well, as only a handful of Beavers competed in the Mike Thorson Open or the Dakota Alumni Classic back in December.

Leading the way for the women through those first two meets so far this season has been senior Summer Krebsbach, who clocked the 9^th-fastest time in the NSIC so far this winter in the 60-meter dash, a 7.74-second effort.

Minot State also has seen good things from freshman Jamie Ward in the throws as she posted a best mark of 37 feet, 3 inches in the shot put to start her collegiate career.

On the men's side, freshman Justin Williams had a strong collegiate debut in the 200 meters and sits 14^th in the NSIC after posting a time of 22.66 seconds.

This weekend, the Beavers look to have more sprinters, jumpers, throwers, and distance runners in action in the first of five upcoming indoor meets in preparation for the NSIC Championships held at the end of February in Mankato, Minnesota.

And the new Minot State coach is excited to see how his team performs, without expectations.

"I try not to put expectations on any group," he said, heading into the weekend. "Whether I have worked with them for years or am just stepping into the fold. Expectations only add pressure to an athlete's mindset. The result that we have will be dependent on the preparation that we have been working on. I'll be looking at and evaluating different areas of the group to see what needs to happen moving forward.

"I think that the only true expectation that I have is to compete to your highest level on the given day," Stevens added. "If you do that, solid results will follow. If we do that, the process will continue to build in the right way as we move through the season."