The warmer temperatures in the metro area have folks thinking about spring, and with that comes the start of the spring sports seasons at Millsaps. During the days leading up to start of these seasons, Millsaps Athletic Communications will preview softball, baseball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf and track & field. The fourth in this set of previews is track and field.
 
Men
 
The men's track and field team is coming off a seventh place finish at the 2018 SAA Championships but return a wealth of talent along with welcoming a promising crop of newcomers. 
 
The Majors return Asael Hernandez-Loredo who was last year's conference champion in discus and finished second in the hammer throw while also returning Michael Tadda, who finished third in the javelin. Head coach Andy Till said the team will look to lean on returners like Landon Wimberly in the sprints and relays and freshmen Grant Yancey and Zach Deihl to provide depth to the team's distance category. 
 
Women
 
The women return a plethora of talent from last year's fifth place squad. Leading the way will be Aliyah Gillespie and Payton Passantino, both of whom qualified for and competed at nationals, making them the first Majors since 2011 to do so. Gillespie is coming off second place finishes in the 200 and 400 meter at the SAA Championships while Passantino, a thrower, looks to defend her SAA crown in javelin. 
 
Shelby Wilson returns as a seasoned jumper for Millsaps, taking second in last season's conference championship in the high jump with a height of 1.62 meters. 
 
Coach Till also mentioned Kai Horne as a key piece of the women's team as she, along with Gillespie and Lacee Winfield were part of the 4x400 relay team that took second at the championship.

Senior Miranda Gaupp and sophomore Abby Tew will be tasked with leading the Majors distance group and will look to draw on their experience from last year's SAA's.  
 
The Majors open their 2019 campaign on Saturday at the Mississippi College Opener at MC in Clinton. Field events start at 10am with track events beginning at 11am.