After a strong start for the Arizona men’s and women’s track and field teams last Saturday at the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff, the teams will look to carry that momentum into tomorrow’s Bronco Invitational in Nampa, Idaho where the competition level will be stepping up a notch.
After shot put thrower Zach Lloyd qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the Lumberjack Invitational – beating the required 19.30-meter mark by throwing 19.46m – the team will now try to build off his success when it faces two Pacific 10 Conference squads in Stanford and California, as well, as a Boise State team with a strong base of individual athletes.
“”It’s a much more competitive meet then the Lumberjack (Invitational),”” said UA head coach Fred Harvey. “”Any time we get a chance to compete against Pac-10 competition we have to be ready to bring it and be very competitive with it.””
Stanford will bring the No. 7 and No. 5 men’s and women’s teams, respectively, while the California women’s team was a preseason No. 19.
The level of competition has not lowered Harvey’s standards, however, as he expects his team to perform well and with more intensity than last week, particularly the freshmen.
“”(The freshmen) need to know that every time they go out they are facing a state champion from somewhere,”” Harvey said.
Freshman hurdler LaTisha Holden – who finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles at last weeks invitational – understands how important it is for the freshmen to step up on such a young team.
“”The intensity level goes up much more from high school,”” she said. “”It is very important that we (the freshmen) do anything we can to help lead our team to glory.””
Lloyd was the only member of the team in any event to automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sophomore high jumper Jasmin Day and junior pole vaulter Gabriella Duclos earned provisionals on the women’s side, however, while junior long jumper Jordan Powell earned one for the men. Harvey fully expects four or five more athletes to qualify this weekend.
“”My expectations may be a little bit greedy,”” Harvey said, “”but I expect every person that’s going to be there (that) we get a stand-out performance from (them).””
