Miami University will be hosting its second track meet of the year Saturday as schools head to Oxford to compete in the RedHawk Invitational.
Men's track and field Head Coach Warren Mandrell said competing at home helps his throwers.
"It's always good to be home, especially for the field athletes because they get to compete on their home surface," Mandrell said. "Hopefully we can get some good marks, it hasn't been a huge meet the past few years but some events will be competitive."
Mandrell has been trying athletes in different events all year to see where they are best fit and with two weeks remaining until the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships, he said he thinks he is close to where he wants the team to be.
"We're probably pretty sure what we're going to do for the [MAC Championships]," Mandrell said. "We might mix it up this weekend to give some variety."
The MAC allows each team to send up to 30 athletes to the conference championships, given that they qualify. Mandrell said a rough estimate of how many athletes he is decided on is 24.
The RedHawks have dealt with unfortunate weather almost all year long, and Mandrell said he hopes the weather cooperates and the Red and White can have a productive meet.
"I thought after the [Sea Ray Relays] the team was confident," Mandrell said. "Hopefully we can get some good weather this weekend and have a good week."
The women's track and field team will have competitors in Oxford this Saturday, but some of the top performers will be travelling to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Drake Relays.
Head Coach Kelly Phillips said sophomores Melissa Girgis, Amanda Hancock and Anna Lamb will be competing in the 10,000 meter run in Iowa. Senior Layne Baggett will compete in the 100 meter hurdles and junior Tori Paterra will throw the javelin. Phillips also said redshirt senior Diona Graves, junior Erica Howes and sophomore Elisa Frazier will be travelling to Iowa.
With the exception of three throwers, the whole team took last weekend off from competition in order to rest.
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"We were on a pretty good roll, the worst thing we could do is run them into the ground," Phillips said. "Throwers get into a groove so they like to compete every week."
Redshirt senior Katie Scannell said she has been satisfied with her performance thus far.
"I am pretty happy, I'd like to be a little faster but coming back from my injury has limited me," Scannell said.
Phillips said she believes the team is where she wants it to be as they approach MAC Championships.
"We're good where we're at, we need to keep doing what we're doing and fine tune for [the MAC Championships," Phillips said.
Scannell agreed the RedHawks are happy where they are.
"I'm not really sure what we could change to improve because we're doing really well," Scannell said. "I'm not sure changes would be a good idea."
The events are scheduled to begin 11:00 am.
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