LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The schedule and roster for the 2016 indoor and outdoor track & field season has officially been released.
 
The 2016 season will be the team's first under new head coach Sean Henning. Henning takes over the team right after his first season at the helm of Biola Cross Country. During the cross country season he earned Golden State Athletic Conference Women's Coach of the Year honors, led the women's team to a third place national finish and GSAC Championship, led the men's team to a GSAC runner-up finish and coached two individual conference champions and a national champion.
 
Both track & field teams will be eager for the consistency of its new full-time head coach after spending one year guided by interim head coach Bill Crumley. This year's team features 33 returning student-athletes and 25 new recruits.
 
The indoor season begins on Feb. 5 with day one of the Sunshine Indoor Open hosted by Westmont. This is one of three "indoor" meets coach Henning's team will compete in prior to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor Championships in early-March.
 
"We have three opportunities to get athletes qualified for indoor nationals," said Henning. "The track season is long, so we will be working hard throughout the indoor season and competing tired outside of the indoor championship week."
 
It will be a busy outdoor season as Henning's squad tackles a regular season outdoor schedule with 11 meets on it.
 
He will split the team across three different meets during one weekend in mid-April as he sends runners to Long Beach State, Azusa Pacific and Mt. San Antonio College.
 
"This will be a big qualifier weekend and an opportunity for some of our athletes who are already qualified to run back to back to prepare themselves for rounds at nationals," said Henning.
 
The team will also compete at CSU Fullerton, UC Irvine, Point Loma, San Francisco State and some NCAA Division III schools over the course of the schedule.
 
The Eagles get into postseason action beginning April 28 with day one of the GSAC Championship meet. This meet will again be hosted by Westmont and Biola will be looking to reestablish itself as a competitor for the conference championship.
 
After the women's team won back-to-back championships in 2013 and 2014 it had to sit second behind a deep Westmont team in 2015. Led by seniors Anika Gasner, Kellian Hunt, Nicole Falkenstein and Elyse Harabedian the team is primed to get back into title contention. The men's side is looking to improve on last year's fifth place finish.
 
Henning added a trip to Occidental College between the GSAC meet and the 2016 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The NAIA Championships will be held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Alabama from May 26-28.