Staff Report
The UNM track and field team travels to Fort Collins, Colo., today to compete in the Jack Christiansen Invitational Saturday.
For many of the 45 athletes heading north, this weekend marks the first competition in several weeks. The Lobos are coming off trips to Austin, Texas, in the Texas Relays and the Mt. SAC Relays in California. Both of those meets required a minimum qualification to attend.
"Some athletes haven't competed in a while and they're hungry," head coach Matt Henry said. "Colorado State is the closest meet this week. I'm looking for good performances."
The track meet at CSU will feature several teams from Colorado and Wyoming. The meet allows athletes to compete without having to clear any qualifying marks.
Henry said that UNM had the choice of going to the CSU meet or traveling to the Penn Relays where qualifying marks would have been necessary.
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"We could take 10 people to the Penn Relays or take a whole team to Fort Collins," Henry said. "The choice was easy."
A few athletes will not travel this weekend due to injuries. Junior Branden Bennett will not be available in the pole vault because of a heel injury and junior Bridgid Isworth will also not compete. Junior Ahmed Raji pulled his groin in the open 200-meter dash in Mt. SAC and will not run. Junior Matt Bishop, who pulled his hamstring a few weeks ago, will take Raji's place on the 4x400-meter relay.
The field events get underway at 9 a.m., followed by the running events at 10:30 p.m.
