The 2023 local track and field season officially gets under way on Saturday when Cal Poly Humboldt hosts the annual Green & Gold Open at Redwood Bowl.

The meet kicks off with men’s discus at 9 a.m. while running events are slated to begin at 12:30 p.m.

There will also be an alumni reception before running events begin at 11 a.m.

College of the Redwoods will also compete at the meet.

“We’re super excited,” Lumberjacks head coach Sarah Ingram said. “Athletes have put in a lot of work throughout the fall and spring. We’ve done a lot of time trials and testing and everybody’s looking really good.

“It’s a really fun way to kick off the year. We’ve got our alumni coming back into town. We have community members that come out and jump into the events as well. It’s not about peak performances for athletes or anybody. It’s just about loving the sport of track and field and getting out there and having some fun with it.”

Events on the schedule for Saturday’s meet are a bit shorter than distances that will normally be run throughout the spring and will give athletes an opportunity to ease back into the feel of racing again.

“It kind of goes along the line of what an indoor type of meet would be,” Ingram said. “We’re not as deep into the season, so we’re not looking for the same times and marks we would be looking for in April and May.”

The Jacks are returning four all-conference performers from a men’s squad that finished fifth and a women’s squad that finished eighth at last year’s California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. 

“We’ve got a really young team overall,” Ingram said. “It’s exciting to see the growth of the team and how young we are with the amount of talent that we have right now. 

“I think we’re going to end up having a really good season this year with the squad that we have, but I think the next two to three years are going to be really really exciting.”