|
The University of Idaho track and field team, which was slated to begin the season at the Sacramento Invitational last week, decided to withdraw, and instead will make its outdoor debut in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational.
“We looked at the situation and everything is a week later this year,” said Idaho coach Wayne Phipps. “The transition time is a week later and we had some injuries during the indoor season and we wanted to let those guys heal before pushing them into competition again.”
Both the UI women’s and men’s teams finished third at the WAC Indoor Championships and will try to build on the success they had during the season.
While many of the events for outdoor track are the same, the addition of events like the javelin, discus and 400-meter hurdles, steeplechase, 1,500 meters and 10,000 meters, these events will give UI more chances to score in meets.
“The difference between the outdoor and indoor is that certain events replace others,” Phipps said. “So instead of the 3K and 5K, which are run in the indoor season, you have the 1,500 meters and the 10,000 meters.”
Phipps said he is excited to see the athletes that struggled through injuries get back out and compete.
“Kevin Pabst and Elvie Williams are two guys that are going to do well in the hurdles,” Phipps said. “Kevin and Elvie are both guys who were battling injuries at certain times during the indoor season.”
Going into the outdoor season, the Vandals will be without a key component on the men’s side as Diego Moreno-Guzman, an athlete who shined during both the cross country season and the 2007 indoor and outdoor track seasons, was dismissed from the team.
“It’s unfortunate for us because he is a guy who could go out and score 20 points during a meet,” Phipps said. “It’s also unfortunate because he’s a really good guy, too.”
Moreno-Guzman earned first team All-WAC honors for his second place finish in the 3K run and second team honors with his fourth place finish in the 5K run and the WAC Indoor Championships during the 2007 season. He also earned a pair of first team honors during the outdoor season with his second place finish in the 3K steeplechase and third place 1,500 meters.
After an indoor season that included record-breaking performances by Russ Winger and Matt Wauters, the Vandals will look to other athletes to complement an already strong team.
Junior javelin thrower Kyle Hook could be one athlete who will help the team achieve its goal of obtaining a championship.
Hook, who took fourth at last years outdoor championships and earned second team all-WAC honors, will look to improve on his personal best throw of 191 feet, 8 inches.
The Stanford Invitational will begin Friday and run through Saturday.
 Add as favorites (34) | Views: 438
|
