Back-to-back runner-up finishes are bound to instill a drive to get to the top. For the Binghamton University men’s track and field team, that climb to the top begins this weekend.

After a solid finish last weekend in the Bearcats’ only home meet of the season, both the men’s and women’s teams are back in action today for the America East Indoor Championship.

The team competed in its annual tri-meet against Syracuse and Albany last Friday, and used the last meet of non-conference play as a last-minute chance to train and have fun before the season’s stakes escalate. Binghamton had a strong performance, with the men’s team taking first place and the women coming in second. Head coach Mike Thompson was pleased with last Friday’s results.

“I thought it went very well,” he said. “We use that meet just as a tune-up for conference, so I thought everybody in general looked pretty good going into this weekend. Kevin Ralston looked good in the long jump, and Michelle Eberhart had a really good triple jump, but I thought in general everybody looked really good.”

The AE Indoor Championship will take place this Friday and Saturday at Boston University, and both the men and the women hope to set the bar high for the rest of conference play.

Last year at this meet, the men came in second for the second time in a row, while the women placed sixth. With returning champions such as junior Cazal Arnett, who won the America East Men’s Most Outstanding Track Athlete last year, sophomore Erik van Ingen and senior Kiki Gifft, it is clear that both the women’s and the men’s teams have veteran competitors who won’t go down easily. But to Thompson, keeping things in perspective is key.

“I think we’re in a similar position as last year,” he said, “And I think it just depends on how much people will step up and overachieve this weekend. For the men, you’re looking at anywhere from first to fourth, and for the women, anywhere from fourth to sixth. So it just depends on how we do.”

Along with the experienced athletes, many of the newcomers are hoping to display their best stuff this weekend. Freshmen such as Jess Hennig and Jenna Marrione will both be key components for the women’s team, while freshmen Zach Keefer and Casey Gilbert are joining the ranks of past champions Arnett and junior Christian Smith in the short-distance races.

New athletes have also taken over the men’s pole vaulting event, with four freshmen competing this weekend. Overall it seems that finding talent in both the young and the old players is not the problem; instead, it is how they will use their talent.

“Obviously Cazal should do well,” Thompson said when asked about how his team would perform. “The distance runners in general are very strong, so a lot of them can do very well. We have several people on the pole vault, so that could be a good event for us. We’ll just have to wait and see. On the men’s side we have a lot of people who could do well and on the women’s side we have Jess Hennig, Jasmine Hinson, Michelle Eberhart, Kiki Gifft, Jenna Marrione; those are all people who could do very well.”

Overall, it seems that after a week of resting up and a season that is predicated on conference play, the Bearcats are ready to spring into action. After this two-day meet, the teams participate in the ECAC and IC4A championships, which are quickly followed by the NCAA championship. Starting this championship season off right is of the utmost importance to Thompson.

“I hope that everybody wins,” he said. “We have a lot of people who could win events and a lot of people who could score in events. I look at everybody as a whole, and as long as everybody does better than their season going in, then it’s a successful meet. I would hope that overall the men finish at least in the top two, and that our women finish at least in the top five.”