CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona's Kelli Burton placed sixth in the discus Saturday with a top distance of 47.67 meters at the Arizona Invitational in Tucson. The Wildcats split up this weekend to compete in events in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles.

Sprinters, hurdlers and pole-vaulters this way, distance runners and throwers that way.

The Arizona track teams will be divided this weekend, heading to two different events, the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, and the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational in Westwood, Calif.

The majority of Wildcat sprinters and hurdlers and all of their pole-vaulters travel to Austin for the Texas-hosted event, which the Wildcats will use simply to build on their busy schedule, Arizona head coach Fred Harvey said.

"The idea, when they go to Texas, is to try and get as many relay-qualifying marks for the ladies, as well as some individual NCAA-qualifying marks, because it's a meet that's very high-intensity for those particular events," he said.

The meet in Westwood, hosted by UCLA, is geared towards

distance runners, most of whom have already qualified.

They include junior Robert Cheseret, who Harvey said is looking to qualify in yet another event, the 5,000-meter run.

Senior hurdler Chelsea Powell has competed in the invitational the past two years.

"It's progressively getting better," she said. "The first time we went, it was not good at all, because it was the first time they'd ever had the meet. And then last year, there was a lot more competition. It was a lot better. Hopefully this year it will be bigger."

The two meets away from home this weekend will be the first since early March for the teams, but most of the athletes are looking forward to hitting the road.

"It's fun because it's a different track," freshman sprinter Jeanine Dancy said. "I feel like we've been (home) for a while."

Sophomore sprinter Jennifer Whitlock is coming off of yet another injury, this time related to dizziness caused by fainting while getting off the plane from the Mountain-Pacific Conference Championships in Seattle in late February.

"It's been really hard, because it feels like I've basically been injured since my senior year in high school," she said. "Coming off injury, the best thing for me is just to get meets in to get my times down. I'm expecting to get back into the swing of it."

The competition in Texas will be a step up from what the Wildcats have been used to facing, with junior college and club teams included.

"It's going to be crazy competition," Whitlock said. "It's definitely going to help. I'm definitely going to get a good time out of this."

Harvey thinks his hurdler can get the job done in Austin, injured or not.

"This is a meet where I think (Whitlock) can get the qualifying standard, but it's really more of an intense environment," he said.

Another athlete Harvey expects to qualify this weekend is Powell in the 400 hurdles.

"(Powell's) very capable," he said. "Getting her qualified is definitely one of our main priorities."

In order to continue on their current tear, the Wildcats need to remain focused on the meet at hand and not look ahead, Harvey said.

"Focus and hard work are the keys. Work towards staying to the task. That's it," Harvey said.

"The competition, in terms of the meets that we go to, is definitely going to force us to get better. However, it's just a matter of not getting too far ahead of ourselves."