Eight Wildcats will represent Arizona track and field this weekend when they compete in the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, hosted by Arkansas.
With top 10 rankings in six of seven events, the Wildcats remain confident as they tackle the most competitive meet of the season.
"(We feel) extremely confident with the group that we have because all of them are so highly ranked," said UA head coach Fred Harvey. "When you have those type of stats going in, you feel extremely confident that you will score well. We feel pretty good about our chances.
"(These athletes) have all competed at a high level at one time or another in their career. Coming into a national championship will not be overwhelming for the majority of them."
The men, led by sophomore Robert Cheseret, will focus their energy on the distance events. Cheseret will compete in the 3,000-meter final, an event in which he maintains the fourth fastest time of the season at 7:52.00.
In the March 6 Last Chance Meet, senior Kyle Goklish earned his way to Arkansas with a provisional qualifying time of 13:55.75 in the 5,000-meter, ranking him fifth.
In the same event, the men's distance medley relay received an automatic bid with a school-record time of 9:34.27. The team, composed of Cheseret, Jin Daikoku, Jevon Mason and Tim Ramirez, hopes to have an equally memorable performance this weekend.
In the pole vault, junior Chris Chappell ranks fifth with a personal best height of 17 feet, 9 inches.
The women will look to senior Connie Jerz, who claimed the pole vault title and an automatic NCAA bid with a height of 13 feet, 9 inches in the Last Chance Meet. The height ranks Jerz fourth in the women's vault competition.
Junior Sharifa Jones will work double-duty as she competes in the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump. Jones ranks fifth in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet, 10 inches and 17th in the hurdles with a school record of 8.24 seconds.
"I feel like I should have a very good performance. I am very mentally and physically prepared," Jones said. "I just need to focus on myself and not look at anyone else."
The Arizona teams will reunite March 19 and 20 at the Willie William's Classic at Drachman Stadium.
"(This event will feature) a little higher level competition (than the Wildcat Classic). It's a big meet for us in terms of our ability to recruit and showcase our facilities for high school athletes because 37 high schools will present at the competition," Harvey said.