FROSTBURG, Md. – Optimism and momentum were two points that Frostburg track & field coach Shane Brookshire stressed earlier this week when asked about the 2020 portion of the team's indoor schedule. 
  
Brookshire and his staff might be in their first season at the helm of the program, but the staff is thrilled about the success the team showed in their season-opening meet at West Virginia University in early December.  
  
"The team ran better than expected at WVU," said Brookshire. "The athletes had some great training sessions in the fall and a lot of them carried that training into the first meet by improving on their marks from previous seasons at this time." 
 
"They outperformed my expectations for the first meet and my staff and I feel we set ourselves up well for the rest of the indoor schedule," added Brookshire. 
  
With four meets on the docket between now and the Mountain East Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 21-22, the Bobcats have the talent to continue the upward trend the team showed in the opener. 
  
"We are in a great position to get into some faster qualifying heats at some larger and more competitive meets this winter," noted Brookshire. "Opening up with some excellent marks will put us in a place to compete at a higher level the rest of the season." 
 
In the weeks leading up to the MECs, the Bobcats will visit Division I Liberty and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and will face some of the east coast's top athletes.  
 
"We should finish in the top five in the MEC Championships with the potential to have several league champions," added Brookshire. "A few athletes are currently among the top of the standings in their respective events. As long as we keep accomplishing what we should, I think we will have great success at our first Division II conference championship meet." 
 
---------- 
 
Senior Keileen Estrada and junior Maddison Watson return to guide the Bobcat women into the Division II ranks and both have all-conference awards on their resumes. 
  
Estrada brings seven All-Capital Athletic Conference awards into her final season with the Bobcats and she will headline the hurdle and relay events for the Bobcats. She opened her senior season with third place at WVU in the 200-meter dash in 27.43. 
  
Last spring, she was the CAC Outdoor Champion in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.05), while as a sophomore she helped the 4x100-meter relay team to CAC and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles. She also garnered USTFCCCA All-Region honors following the success of the 4x100. 
  
During the 2017-18 indoor season, Estrada earned her first All-Region award after helping the 4x400-meter relay to the ECAC Championship behind a school record 3:56.43. 
  
Watson has been a valuable member of the sprints and relay teams over her two seasons at FSU. During her first season she joined Estrada on the All-Region 4x400-meter relay team that won the ECAC Championship behind a school record 3:56.43. 
  
Last spring, Watson won the 400 (1:03.45) at Juniata and won both the 200 (27.56) and 400 (1:02.45) at the Bobcat Invitational. She posted second place in the 200 (27.42) at WVU earlier this season, losing only to a sprinter for the Mountaineers. 

Junior

  
Estrada and Watson will be joined by a young and talented roster that includes sophomore Amy Trembly and first-years Alyssa Mullery, Shanya Booker and Morgan Mathews. 
 
"Keileen is a leader on the team and is coming into the season faster than in her previous three seasons," mentioned Brookshire. "She is expected to be a top performer along with Maddison. Both work well in practice together, and with the work they have put in, should pay off at the MECs."
 
"Keileen and Maddison's experience in the 4x400 will help us compete against better schools."
 
Trembly is one of Frostburg's most versatile athletes with experience in the jumps and pole vault. Last spring, she opened the outdoor season with a win in the high jump at Juniata (1.40m). She added two runner-up finishes in the HJ during the season and capped the spring with third in the high jump at the CAC Championships. (1.54m). She also added ninth in the pole vault at 2.52 meters.
 
Trembly narrowly missed an NCAA provisional mark in the high jump at WVU as she cleared 1.61 meters (5ft. 1.25in.) and currently ranks second in the MEC in the event.
 
Booker will join Estrada and Watson in the sprints this winter. She has demonstrated great ability in the 400 and great range from the 100 hurdles up to the 400. She took third in the 60 hurdles at WVU in 9.60.
 
Mullery opened her collegiate career with second place in the 60-meter hurdles(9.58) against DI competition at WVU and she currently ranks fifth in the MEC in the high jump after posting a 1.50 meter (4ft. 11in.) at WVU.
 
Mathews heads into 2020 ranked seventh in the MEC in the 400 (1:04.48) and ninth in the shot put (9.59m/31ft. 5.75in). She will be Frostburg's pentathlete this winter and will compete in the five events at the MECs and possibly at Liberty if she qualifies.
 
The Bobcat men will be led by a foursome of seniors and two talented juniors.
 
John Kerns, Kevon Adams, Michael Belcher and Jacob Rickards all return for their final seasons with the Bobcats and all should compete for the top spots in the MEC standings.
 
"The foursome of seniors provide leadership to the program," said Brookshire. "The depth in the events is key, especially throws, what Frostburg has been known for in the recent past and it's great to have two seniors in the throws."
 
Kerns is arguably Frostburg's most decorated student-athlete over the last several years with four all-region certificates and three All-CAC medals.
 
A year ago, Kerns captured the CAC Championship and was a First Team All-CAC honoree after winning the shot put at the indoor league championships. During the outdoor campaign, Kerns captured the CAC title in the hammer throw, finished runner-up in the league in the shot put and finished the season with the longest throw in the hammer in the Mideast Region. In total, Kerns posted eight wins during the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2018-19 and set FSU's school record in the weight throw at 17.39 meters at Bucknell Open.
 
Kerns currently leads the MEC in the weight throw at 16.78 meters and is second in the shot put at 15.11 meters following two standout efforts at WVU.
 
Kerns is joined in the throws by senior and All-CAC performer Michael Belcher who competed in his first year for Frostburg in 2018-19.
 
Belcher burst on the scene during the outdoor season after opening the campaign with wins in the shot put (12.79 meters) and discus (45.34 meters) at the Juniata Invitational. He added a win in the discus (44.85 meters) at the Bobcat Invitational and snared All-CAC Second Team honors after placing runner-up in the hammer throw (51.24 meters) at the CACs.
 
The 51.24-meter toss at the CACs landed Belcher at third in the Mideast Region and securing a USTFCCCA All-Region medal.
 
Following WVU, Belcher ranks fourth in the Mountain East in the weight throw (15.00 meters) and 12^th in the shot put (11.97 meters).
 
After the first meet of his final season, Adams sits in sixth in the MEC standings in the long jump at 6.19 meters and he is 22^nd in the 60-meter dash in 7.29. Adams finished sixth in the long jump (6.40 meters) at last year's CAC Championships.
 
Rickards, also a key contributor to the Bobcat cross country team, Rickards is one of Frostburg's top mid-distance runners. Last spring, he took eighth in the 800 at the CACs in 1:58.09 and captured 18^th at the AARTFC Championships in the 800 in 1:58.61. He also took eighth in the 800 at the CAC Indoor Championships at 2:01.87.
 
In the mile, Rickards ranks ninth in the MEC in 4:45.78 after finishing third at WVU.
 
During the fall XC season, Rickards took 28^th at the MECs in 29:05.97 and was Frostburg's second finisher.
 
"Each of our seniors brings a great work ethic that will hopefully get passed onto the younger athletes as we build this program," noted Brookshire.
 
A pair of juniors will also provide depth and be valuable contributors for the Bobcats.
 
Clayton Washington enters 2020 ranked 17^th in the MEC in the 200-meter dash in 23.43. As a sophomore, he finished 12^th at the CACs during the indoor campaign at 23.84, while during the outdoor season, he won the 200 at the Bobcat Invitational in 22.84.
 
Like Rickards, Braxton Clark was key to the success of the cross country team and Brookshire is confident that his skills will be key on the track as well.
 
Clark is ranked ninth in the MEC in the 3,000-meter run at 9:25.16. Last winter, Clark finished 14^th in the 3,000 at the CACs in 9:28.53 and he opened the '19-20 season by winning the event at WVU in 9:31.74.
 
During the fall, Clark captured a Second Team All-MEC award after finishing 20^th in 28:04.54 at the league cross country championships. Clark was FSU's top XC finisher in all six fall meets.
 
"Both Clay and Braxton reflect great work ethic and what we are trying to build this program around moving forward," said Brookshire. "Clay is an all-around sprinter and we can use him in almost every event. He brings great intangibles to the team."
 
"Braxton is going to build off the exceptional cross country season he had. I really see his hard work paying off this season indoor season. His commitment to the sport is the backbone of our distance program."
 
"Good athletes in the distance and jumps is something that we need to be successful in," added Brookshire. "We have athletes in every event area that will help us score points which will help us improve in the MEC standings."
 
Frostburg returns to the track on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17-18 at the SU Orange & Maroon Classic at Susquehanna University.