The Arizona track and field team will finally travel as a whole this weekend at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship meet in Seattle, Wash.

This meet, which will be held at the Dempsey Indoor facility, marks Arizona’s first team-scored meet of the season, meaning every event counts. With that said, athletes have been shifting their focus from individual performance to a more team-oriented mindset.

“”I’m looking to score points to help out the team,”” said sophomore Abdi Hassan, who will be running the 800-meter and the mile. “”It’s like an exam: There’s no saying I could have, should have. You have to perform or you fail.””

Senior Liz Patterson is the reigning champion of the women’s high jump at the Mt. Pac Championship and will take aim at another first-place finish this weekend.

“”This is my last Mt. Pac. I’m excited,”” Patterson said. “”I do feel like there’s a lot of pressure on me but not in a bad way. It makes me want to better … another win would be a great way to go out.””

Sophomore Chris McSwain is also seeded first in the men’s 200m.

“”It helps me stay confident,”” McSwain said of being the No. 1 seed. “”It lets me know I have to put it down. I don’t want to disappoint anybody.””

After a less than desirable performance last season in the meet, the team is anxious for some revenge.

“”Last year was a bad year. Nobody showed up,”” McSwain said. “”We had runners that were seeded, but everyone ran bad. It was horrible.””

The coaches feel that the athletes have done all the training and it’s now up to the athletes to perform.

“”I think we’ve done all that we can do,”” said sprinting coach Francesca Green. “”It’s just a matter of getting out there and performing and putting some points on the board.””

— Galo Mejia