After splitting up to compete in four meets in two weeks, the Idaho track and field team will compete together in the Mondo Mid-Major Challenge Friday and Saturday in Sacramento, Calif.
Idaho Tony Marcolina | Argonaut Idaho junior Kristine Leonard winds up for a shotput throw during practice Wednesday at the Dan O'Brien Track and Field Complex. The Vandals will be attending the Mondo Invitational in Sacramento, Calif., today and Saturday.
Idaho Director of Track and Field Wayne Phipps said his team is excited and ready for its first big road meet of the season. Idaho has not competed at Sacramento State since 2006, before any of the current athletes were on the team. A Vandal team that has competed almost exclusively in Spokane so far this season is ready for the change of view.
“It will definitely be a lot more supportive (this week) with everybody going,” Idaho sophomore Erica Digby said. “It’s always fun travelling with the team.”
In addition to the Hornets, the Vandals will face Portland State and UC Davis, as well as WAC rivals Utah State, Fresno State and Nevada.
“There are a number of schools from the WAC that will be there and then some other schools are kind of similar level of competiveness — the mid-major but very competitive track and field programs,” Phipps said. “So it will be a nice conference preview. It will be a very similar type of competition to what we’ll face at conference.”
Since the meet is so similar to what the Vandals will face in the WAC Championships, most of the Idaho athletes will compete in their regular events, Phipps said. This includes competing in multiple events on the same day, something many athletes will do at conference.
The main focus for the Vandals at this point in the season is to stay healthy and continue to improve their times and marks, Phipps said. For the first time all season, nearly every athlete has participated in a meet and has a time or mark to improve on. Idaho has competed in five meets so far this season and has five more before the Vandal Jamboree May 4 and 5 on the rebuilt Dan O’Brien Track & Field Complex.
Idaho has had three different WAC Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week this season and hopes to continue that trend in Sacramento.
“I’m just excited to watch the whole team and compete against some WAC schools and (get) an early to mid-season evaluation of where we’re at,” Phipps said. “We’ve competed very well, had a number of outstanding performances, and I think we’ve set ourselves up really well for the start of what’s the meat of our competition schedule.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]