Fourteen is the magic number for six Arizona track and field athletes this weekend.
This is their last opportunity to move up to at least 14th in the descending order for the NCAA National Championship meet.
Fourteen athletes are chosen for each event in the meet, and after the top 14 athletes are chosen, those who are doubling events are counted in order to free spots for single-event athletes. This leads to a total number of 284 men and women allowed to compete.
“”This weekend is purely about time,”” said head coach Fred Harvey. “”It doesn’t matter what place they get. It’s about them running the best time they can.””
The women’s 4×400-meter team and sophomore LaTisha Holden will be headed to Lied Recreation Center at Iowa State for the NCAA Qualifier.
Senior Mohamud Ige will be headed to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational.
The women’s 4x400m team is currently in 23rd on the descending order list. While nine spots seems like a lot, redshirt sophomore Echos Blevins has confidence that the team can improve.
“”I’m excited that we’re going to get the chance to run again to better our time,”” Blevins said. “”This isn’t a race we can bullshit. We have to run it. There are schools there who are going to be running fast to better their time too.””
“”I would have liked to have this week off,”” Blevins added, “”but I don’t mind going and running because that (4×400) is the only thing we’re running.””
Holden is aiming to improve her 17th spot in the women’s 60-meter hurdle by at least three positions this weekend. Holden has already climbed her way from 25th last week to 17th with a performance of 8.27 seconds.
Ige might have the largest hurdle this weekend as he looks to improve his 25th ranking. He provisionally qualified for the men’s 5000m last weekend with a time of 14:00.13.
It will be a pressure-packed weekend for the Wildcats, and Harvey feels that all the athletes this weekend should understand the situation that they are in and the pressure that comes with it.
“”In Division I athletics, the pressure is a part of what we do,”” he said.
