Miami University will be hosting the Miami Invitational track and field meet Friday and Saturday. Both the men's and women's teams will be competing.
Some of the teams travelling to Oxford include Butler University, the University of Cincinnati, Ohio Northern University, the University of Findlay and Eastern Illinois University.
Men's Head Coach Warren Mandrell said he is glad the 'Hawks have the opportunity to compete at home.
"The kids are usually comfortable because their friends or roommates can watch them compete in an environment that they are comfortable in," Mandrell said.
The RedHawks are coming off of a second-place finish at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational in Cincinnati and Mandrell will continue to make adjustments.
"We will be mixing it up with the distance runners," Mandrell said. "[Senior Jarrod] Eick will be running the 1500 meter race instead of the 5000 meter race."
Mandrell also plans to make adjustments in the sprinter events to see how he can help the team to reach its potential.
"[Junior Jahquil] Hargrove will be running his first outdoor 200 meter race," Mandrell said.
One athlete Mandrell hopes to be a top performer is freshman high jumper Peter Stefanski. Stefanski has excelled during his first year of college competition.
"Stefanski has been exceptional this season," Mandrell said. "I've been very impressed with how he has begun."
Mandrell said he believes the teams competing in Oxford this weekend will be a good competition for the 'Hawks.
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"Cincinnati will be right there with us and Eastern Illinois is a very good team," Mandrell said. "They are a well-rounded team that typically wins their conference by a landslide. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to win."
The women's team originally planned to send some athletes to compete in Florida this weekend, but Head Coach Kelly Phillips decided to keep them in Oxford and give them the opportunity to race at home.
"I think racing at home is an advantage," Phillips said. "The athletes like being at home and they tend to race better on their home track."
As for top performers, Phillips said she believes senior sprinter Layne Baggett will compete well this weekend.
"Our usual suspects will likely perform well," Phillips said. "Baggett will have an opportunity to win her events. All of the races are loaded with talent, which is good."
The women's team also finished second in the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational in Cincinnati, falling only to host Cincinnati. Phillips said the 'Hawks are not necessarily focused on winning, but increasing confidence. However, winning is a big part of confidence.
"Individually, who doesn't love to win?" Phillips said. "If you win every race, you're going to be pretty darn confident."
Though the 'Hawks do not worry about meet scoring, they recognize the opportunity in front of them.
"When you're on your home track, it's always nice to win; and we're in a position to win," Phillips said.
Phillips said she believes Friday and Saturday will be opportunistic days for the Red and White.
"There will be lots of opportunities for success, we just need to take advantage of them," Phillips said.
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