The Wisconsin men's and women's track teams will face their first major contests of the outdoor season at Auburn University this weekend, while the men's distance runners will head to the west coast to face some of the best in the NCAA at the Stanford Invitational.
The distance crew will compete in the famed distance carnival,"" and is expected to produce some of the fastest times this year.
Sophomore Brandon Bethke, the Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year, will be looking to match his success outdoors with an early regional qualifying mark.
Sophomore Jack Bolas and freshman Evan Jager, who each had break-out indoor seasons, will also be in position to hit personal bests against the high-level competition.
The UW athletes will face runners from many distance powerhouses including Arkansas, Georgetown, Notre Dame and BYU.
The sprinters and field event athletes will compete at the Tiger Classic this weekend in Auburn, Ala., where they will face among other teams Iowa, Penn State, Kentucky and Alabama.
Sophomore hurdler Nate Larkin will aim to cut 0.06 seconds off his 110-meter high-hurdles best to hit the regional standard.
Larkin was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week for his 14.36 second winning effort at the Clemson Relays in the Badgers' first outdoor competition.
Junior sprinter James Groce was runner-up in the 400-meter dash last year.
Other top athletes from the indoor season, sophomore jumper Rayme Mackinson and freshman decathlete David Grzesiak, also will be looking for regional qualifying efforts.
Last year, the Badgers picked up three regional qualifying spots at Auburn.
Women's squad
The women's team will be looking to rack up qualifying marks at the Tiger Classic as well. Like the men's competitions, the focus will be on individual performances, as team scores are not tallied.
Senior distance runners Katrina Rundhaug and Ann Detmer, who each scored for UW at the NCAA Indoor Championships, have the opportunity to qualify for the Midwest Regional in the distance events.
Senior Blair Luethmers already showed her outdoor strength last week at the Adidas Relays in Raleigh, N.C., winning the pole vault for clearing 10 feet, 11.75 inches.
Junior Jenny Soceka, who also competes in the heptathlon, finished third in the pole vault at the Tiger Classic last year.
The top thrower last weekend was senior Kayla Schultz, who captured third in the discus and fourth in the shot put. Senior Amy Lewis also showed her strength at the Adidas Relays by placing fifth in the javelin.
Junior jumpers Chavon Robinson, Jessica Jeremiah and Megan Seidl each had strong showings last weekend as well.
In addition, senior sprinter Venus Washington, thrower Amanda Hoeppner and heptathlete Carly Ducharme will lead the women's squad at Auburn.
