The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s track and field teams will embark on their 2005 outdoor season Saturday (April 2) at the Central Iowa Invitational in Pella, Iowa, slated to get underway at 11:00 a.m.

Following the conclusion of the indoor season in mid-March, the Bulldogs have spent much of the past few weeks gearing up for outdoor activity by focusing on one component of training in particular.

“March training went really well,” UMD track and field coach John Fulkrod said. “We went back to how we began the semester and did a lot of strength conditioning work.”

Fulkrod expects senior Robb Winterfeld (Cambridge, Minn.) to lead the Bulldogs runners into action this weekend. Winterfeld is said to have fully recovered from a persistent injury that hampered him for much of the winter.

In addition to the good fortune of Winterfeld’s physical status, the Bulldogs will welcome in senior Nate Swenson (Stevens Point, Wis.), who resumes his athletic eligibility after being idle during indoor competition due to injury. Fulkrod likes Swenson’s chances for NCAA Division II provisional qualification in the high jump.

Meanwhile, the UMD women will look to capitalize on one of the events partisan only to outdoor meets -- the 400-meter hurdles -- which will be the primary pursuit of sophomores Megan Bielke (Sauk Centre, Minn.) and Jakie Zahorsky (Chisholm, Minn.).

Overall, Fulkrod is confident that both teams will see dramatic improvement as they work towards the North Central Conference Outdoor Championships in mid May.

“I think we’re going to score more points in the conference championships in the outdoor season than we did for the Indoor,” he said.

Bulldog Notebook: At the Wartburg Invitational on March 23, UMD senior Josh Dark (Wausau, Wis.) provisionally qualified for the 2005 NCAA II outdoor championships in the hammer throw with a toss of 181 feet, 6 inches. The heave by Dark was just five feet short of the school record set by former Bulldog and 2004 NCAA II titleholder Dan Soldner (186’06”) less than one year ago at the Blugold Invite in Eau Claire, Wis. “The hammer is a technique event and Josh has gotten better at it every year,” Fulkrod said. “I don’t think it will be his best throw of the season either.” Dark stood as the lone Bulldog participant at the event.