tflagstad@journalnet.com

Idaho State's star sprinter Sergio Jones woke up with sore legs Saturday morning.

On race day, that hadn't happened before during the 2009 indoor season.

However, for the first time this year, the Bengals track and field team competed in a multi-day competition. It wrapped up the Mountain State Games on Saturday at Holt Arena.

"It's always a difficult process to sprint and recover," Jones said. "I had three events yesterday. Coming back from that and running hard on the second day is always the biggest challenge."

It's a task Idaho State will face at the Big Sky indoor championships Feb. 27-28 in Flagstaff, Ariz.

All the athletes agreed getting a test run at competing full speed on back-to-back days was vital as the indoor season winds down.

"It gives us a perspective," junior multi-event standout Sydney Wendt said Friday. "We know how exhausted we'll be for conference, so we'll know what to prepare for."

If that's the case, Jones shouldn't be too worried about the aching he felt in his hip flexors when he woke up.

The junior managed to loosen up enough to capture the 200-meter title in 21.76 seconds and finish second in the 60-meter dash in 6.96 behind unattached runner Jeramy Sinclair.

Senior Ashley Turner experienced similar success.

A day after finishing third in the pentathlon and qualifying for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, Turner advanced to the final round in the women's long jump and won the hurdles event in 8.90.

She was feeling the extra work by the end of the day, though.

"It was hurting by the 4x400," she said. "Overall, I think I did pretty well."

Because of scheduling conflicts, the Idaho State coach Dave Nielsen had to cancel the team's regular opener, the two-day Snake River Open at Holt Arena.

In his 26 years leading the Bengals, this winter's indoor schedule is the smallest ever.

"It's just the way schedules worked out, and that's the way it goes," Nielsen said. "We've also had fewer practice days in the dome than we've ever had. That's kind of screwed us up, but the group's resilient and determined. They'll make the best of it."

The meet included Big Sky rivals Weber State, Montana and Montana State as well as regional foes Utah, BYU, Southern Utah and Utah Valley.

It was certainly the largest and deepest field the Bengals have faced so far or will face before the league meet.

"There's a lot of people here, so we're getting a good look at what our competition's gonna be," sophomore muti-event athlete Brandon McNew said Friday. "It's real important."

With only two weeks left of training before conference, Nielsen said the event was also important because now is when the athletes should start to peak.

Also, with fewer meets, Idaho State has fewer chances to qualify athletes for conference.

"It's pretty big to get everybody qualified in this meet," said senior Brad Silvester. "It gets the pressure off because you've got one more meet, and you can just give it everything and see what happens."

And, besides, if Jones, Turner and the rest of the Bengals could hold up physically and mentally during their first two-day test of the season, they'll be that much more prepared and confident taking on the rest of the Big Sky.

"I feel a little bit better," Turner said. "Anything can happen at conference, but it builds your confidence and lets you know what you're capable of."