SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – The Western Iowa Tech Comets athletic program is off and running in its first season of operation, with WIT’s men’s basketball team looking to make some noise in a competitive ICCAC.

The Comets are coming into the season with plenty of expectations led by an intriguing mixture of talent. Led by longtime West High head coach “CoCo” Cofield, the Comets feature players with Sioux City roots, including Bie Ruei, the former East High standout that transferred from Minnesota West back to Siouxland to play for the Comets.

WIT kicked off its practices just a couple of weeks ago, putting in plenty of work while enjoying the early experiences. The Comets competed in a rigorous exhibition game schedule, going 3-0 at the ICCAC JUCO Jam on October 8th in Ames.

“The mindset is to try and win as many games as possible. Each time we try and compete, win as many games as possible, and compete at a high level. We’ve got a tough conference. Our conference is tough, our non-conference is tough, games are tough,” Cofield said. “So, we’re going to try and compete as much as possible. As long as we compete and play hard, everything else will take care of itself.”

“The experiences have been a good one. It’s a new program, so we’re just getting started. But, we’re working every day as you can tell,” Ruei added.

Western Iowa Tech’s first game will be at Iowa Lakes Community College, facing off against defending national champion Milwaukee Area Technical College at 5:30 p.m. on November 3.