PROVO -- The BYU track team will face stiff competition from Boise State, Idaho State, Cal-Poly, Oregon and Cal-Irvine at the Hampton Inn and Suites Classic in Boise, Idaho on Saturday.
After dominating the competition in the Cougar Indoor Invitational, BYU men's track coach Mark Robison said the tougher competition will help the team get sharper.
"I'm very optimistic that we'll get better," Robison said. "We just need to adjust to the competition."
Women's coach Craig Poole echoes the same sentiments as Robison. Poole said the women's team hopes to qualify several more individuals for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
"We will continue to improve this weekend," Poole said. "We're going to change some of our combos so we can get the best results."
The Amy Menlove, the reigning Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week, will anchor the women's team. Menlove and high jumper Lindsey Metcalf received provisional qualifying marks, with several others close to qualifying including sprinter Chalis Firl and middle-distance runner Laura Taylor.
The men's team meanwhile will look for its first qualifying marks of the season. Senior Bryan Lindsay barely missed qualifying in the mile run with a time of four minutes 5.72 seconds, just two hundredths of a second off a provisional mark.
Robison said the men's team will be aided by the return of several athletes who skipped last week's meet.
Distance runners Josh Rohatinsky, Chad Durham and Matt Adams, along with high jumper Rodrigo Mendes, will make their first appearances of the season and should have immediate impact.
"I have really high hopes for these guys," Robison said. "They'll be sharper with rest."
Robison said the men's team should have several individuals qualify this weekend for the NCAA's.
The meet begins Saturday at noon with both the 60-meter high hurdles and the men's 35-pound weight throw. The meet concludes at 4:20 p.m. with the women's 4x400m relay.
Full results of the meet will be available on www.byucougars.com shortly after the conclusion of the meet.