While their teammates on the UA track and field teams took the weekend off, the throws teams competed in two meets.

The result: tired athletes leading to underwhelming throws.

The teams competed in pouring rain at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., on Friday and Saturday, but for the first time in the outdoor season, senior Adam Kuehl did not win the discus.

“”I’d rather throw crappy here and get it out of my system,”” said Kuehl, who failed to qualify for the finals. “”Everyone has those days.””

Teammate Dan Austin finished in 13th place with a throw of 56.73 meters. Kuehl finished in 15th place at 55.36m.

“”Throwers generally can throw every weekend,”” said UA throws coach Craig Carter. “”That’s how it’s been with (former throws coach John Frazier). That’s how I was gonna do it.””

On the women’s side, senior Kelli Burton finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 51.77m. She threw for 15.38m in the shot put to finish in eighth place.

In the hammer throw, junior Megan Howard finished in 11th place with a throw of 55.77m.

“”They did really well under the circumstances,”” Carter said.

Carter added that if he “”could do it over again”” he would have scheduled a break instead of the Mesa Classic on April 13.

“”Technically, it was real close, just a few little breakdowns here and there,”” Carter said of the Wildcats’ performances. “”We gotta fix it and move forward.””

Rankings

After opening the season ranked No. 4 nationally, the men’s team slipped to No. 8 in the April 17 poll.

Including Arizona, there are five Pacific 10 Conference teams in the men’s top 10. The women’s squad is still unranked.