The Cougars will try to recover quickly after a busy Conference USA Championship weekend and will field a pair of teams at separate meets today.
The first team, consisting of 13 sprinters, will travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Iowa State Last Chance Meet at the Lied Recreation Center. A second squad, made up of long and high jumpers, will participate at the LSU NCAA Qualifier in Baton Rouge, La.
Both meets offer the Cougars one last chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships held March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
After the men’s team claimed first and the women’s team third at the C-USA Championships, the squads enjoyed a few days off before today’s meets. Head coach Leroy Burrell hopes the women’s team bounces back quickly.
“It starts with rest and recovery, which is what (we did) this week. (We went) back and tried to fix some of the things that didn’t go so well,” Burrell said.
“Everybody’s upset following the competition. We have to give them a chance to cool off and analyze it, then get back into (their) routine.”
C-USA Championship rules limit teams to fielding only 28 athletes, so Burrell hopes those who were unable to participate take advantage of another chance to qualify for the NCAAs.
“A lot of people do get passed up in the (conference) championship weekend. We’re going to run some events that we feel we really need to run in order (to) insure a spot at the national championships,” Burrell said. “Those who move on (will) go, and we’ll give it our best shot in Arkansas.”
With teams from across the nation pulling out all the stops, Burrell does not know what to expect, but knows the Cougars will face strong opposition.
“We really don’t know what we’re going to see there. People are going to try and set up races to qualify,” Burrell said. “The 4 x 400 should be pretty solid. Everybody’s going there to run fast enough to get in. So it’s going to be a high level of competition.”
Burrell and his team are treating these meets with a win-or-go-home mentality.
“Last chance meets really have an air of desperation because you got to perform, or you’re done,” he said. “There’s very little atmosphere. There’s no fan support. It’s a completely different animal than the conference championship.
“We’ll go up there, give it our best shot and see what happens.”
