The Arizona track and field teams head 90 miles north tomorrow to face in-state rival ASU in a team-score event that pits both teams against another in-state foe: NAU. In a similar meet to begin the indoor season Jan. 22 in Flagstaff, the Arizona men's team placed second with 100 points, more than 30 points short of the Sun Devils' 132. The women's team's 77.5 points finished third to NAU's 81.5 and ASU's 134.
The men's team will be getting some help from freshman jumper Steve MacGregor, who competes in his first outdoor meet of the season after nearly quitting the team.
"It's good to be back," said MacGregor, whose jumps coach was switched from assistant Eric Boxley to head coach Fred Harvey.
"We worked some things out," Harvey said. "The first step was to start training, start getting him ready to jump."
After passing on the past two competitions, MacGregor is ready to roll.
"He's picked up on everything that I've asked him to do," Harvey said. "It's really just a matter of giving him the opportunity and getting him excited, and what better meet than to open up against ASU?"
The rivalry with the Sun Devils will provide extra motivation for his athletes, Harvey said.
"(Even) if you're playing dodge ball or pick-up sticks, it means something," he said.
Because it is a team-score event, the coaches were forced to tweak how they approach the meet.
"(It won't affect) how we prepare for it, but how we place individuals in certain events will absolutely be affected," Harvey said.
With the meet taking place in Tempe, some athletes will have family members in the audience who normally wouldn't get to see them compete.
"Being able to go right in (their) backyard now, I think that's going to make a huge difference," Harvey said.
"These folks are Division I athletes, so if they're not ready to compete in front of their (parents) at this stage of the game, they probably shouldn't be at the Division I level," he said.
As the semester winds down, there is extra pressure on the athletes to perform on the track as well as in the classroom.
"It's stressful trying to balance study sessions and projects - I mean, for a normal student (finals are) stressful enough," said senior hurdler Chelsea Powell.
"We would like to say we (do our homework) on the road," she said with a smile. "But most of it is saved for when we get back."