By Ashley M. Graff
For the BYU track and field team, the tri-meet Saturday, May 6, marks the final home event before the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships.
The Cougars will host Utah State and Washington, creating an afternoon of intense competition.
The BYU women’s team is ranked fifth by the U.S. Track Coaches Association, while Washington is ranked No. 20.
Washington is a Pac-10 school and has a reputation for strong track and field. It has a duel meet record of 17-6 and has done very well, explained women’s head coach Craig Poole.
“Utah State is also a leader in their conference, both men and women’s teams,” Poole said.
Each of the three teams has shown strength and excellence in previous meet performances. The Tri-Meet in Provo will be a representation of three conference powers and what each can do.
Going into the meet, BYU hopes to improve some of its individual rankings. Some track and field members are using this meet as a springboard to prepare themselves for the conference meets.
“This weekend, I’m planning on really focusing in on technique,” said Amy Curtis, who placed second in the javelin last week at the Drake Relays.
Poole said it’s getting down to the time when they’re trying to put it all together.
“I’m not a predictor,” Poole said. “But I will say our girls are ready to do as well or better than they have done all season.”
Due to high altitude, hosting a track meet at BYU does not often bring with it any home-field advantage, but most spectators can expect to see good matchups across the board.
“In each event there should be exciting competition,” said Poole.
In the field events, fans can expect to see Becky Beacher in the shot put and Amy Curtis in the javelin.
“All the young women are getting better and we could see personal bests from any of them,” assistant coach Dick Legas said.
The team is expecting a good turnout for Saturday’s events.
“We hope this meet is a precursor for the conference meet. Last year was probably a little bigger because we had Kansas and Weber State, but it should still be an exciting meet,” Curtis said.
The competition is scheduled to begin Saturday, May 6, at 11 a.m. and finish around 2:30 p.m. Admission is free to the public.
