EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior Jake Arnold clears the high jump bar in the March 24 Wildcat Combined Events hosted at Drachman Stadium. Arnold competes today and tomorrow in the Mt. SAC Combined Events.

Sophomore decathlete Jake Arnold heads to Walnut, Calif. today, two days ahead of the rest of his teammates, who arrive Friday morning.

Competing in the Mt. San Antonio College combined events, Arnold is expecting good things over the duration of the event, which spans today and tomorrow.

"I should be able to qualify in this one," he said. "I'm feeling good. I've been training a lot."

His coach, Fred Harvey, said that Arnold is excited at the potential of competing in Walnut.

"He's prepped, he's ready, and the Mt. SAC Decathlon is one of the premier decathlons in the country," he said.

One reason Harvey feels his decathlete can qualify for the NCAA West Region Championships, held May 27-28 in Eugene, Ore., is the level of competition.

"(The competition) will be better than it was at the NCAA Championships," he said. "There are a number of post-collegiate (athletes) who are the USA-champion-type competitors, as well as the top collegiate athletes."

Arnold agreed that the competition would be harder than what he faced in Tucson during the Wildcat Combined Events March 24-25.

"It's going to be a lot better competition all around. There's going to be a lot more (athletes)," he said.

Another factor Arnold said could come into play is the weather.

"If it's cold (in Walnut) - just because it's always hot (in Arizona), the sun's always out here - my muscles won't warm up as quickly, so it will be different," he said.

Forecasts call for temperatures ranging from the mid-40s to the 70s.

After having to leave for the combined events yesterday, Arnold said missing four of the five days in the school week shouldn't affect his study habits.

"I've already pretty much made it up; I had to turn my stuff in (on Monday)," he said. "I'll have a couple (tests) when I get back, so that'll be interesting."

Harvey said that he isn't worried about the prospect of Arnold missing so many of his classes.

"He's a pretty bright guy, if he was a guy who was struggling academically, we would choose a different meet for him," he said.

The rest of the Wildcats track and field teams arrive in Walnut Friday morning, where they are scheduled to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays through Sunday.

A few members head 15 minutes down the road Friday to Pomona, Calif., for the Pomona Pitzer Invitational, as well as to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach Invitational Saturday.