PROVO -- The BYU men's and women's track teams head to the Mountain States Games in Pocatello, Idaho for an important meet this Thursday and Friday.
The two-day event features athletes from BYU, Utah State, Utah Valley State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, Weber State, Montana State, Montana, Redlands and Utah. The meet will be the last chance for some of the Cougars to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
"This is a really important meet for those who are on the bubble," BYU men's track coach Mark Robison said. "We hope to improve on the marks we've gotten so far."
Both Robison and women's coach Craig Poole plan to rest some of their star athletes and give some more experience and qualifying opportunities to those who were close to qualifying or didn't get the chance to compete last week.
The Games will also be important because they will give the teams a feel for a two-day meet. Robison said it will different for the athletes to run in one event on Friday and then another on Saturday, but he added it will be good preparation for the Mountain West Conference and NCAA Indoor Championship meets.
The meet begins Friday at noon with the women's pentathlon and runs until 8:20 p.m. and resumes Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and concludes at 3:00 p.m. with the 4x400 meter relay.