The Cougar track and field team is competing at home on Friday, April 6, 2007, at the outdoor Clarence Robison Track, beginning at 11 a.m., with the last event at 5 p.m.
"We love competing at home," said men's coach Mark Robison. "We feel like we have one of the best facilities in the country. It's nice when the kids can sleep in their own beds and we don't have to change time zones."
The Cougar Invitational is designed to move quickly, with some great teams expected to compete.
"It will give a lot of people an opportunity to compete," women's coach Craig Poole said. "It will give us a chance to work on some events we haven't really worked on yet."
The coaches expect the team to compete well and are hoping for good weather. Poole said the weather would dictate the level of performance.
Part of the distance team is in Palo Alto, Calif. competing at Stanford University on Friday and Saturday.
"Probably the best competition we'll face all year before nationals," women's cross country coach Patrick Shane said.
The outdoor season is going well for BYU, with several athletes hitting regional qualifying marks in the last few meets. The team is expecting more at the 33rd Annual Stanford Invitational.
"It's an opportunity to evaluate fitness level and see where we are," Shane said. "I think everyone is going to improve on their season or lifetime best."
Teams will be coming from all over the U.S. to compete at the Cobb Track and Angell Field at Stanford.
"The big draw is for the distance runners," Shane said. "The distance events are great. There might be a hundred athletes or more. Very deep, very talented."
According to Stanford's athletic Web site, the meet will host thousands of top high school and college athletes in the United States. Last year, the meet produced 256 NCAA Division I regional or automatic qualifiers.
"The Stanford invitational is typically one of the early season meets that is important for the distance runners," men's cross country coach Ed Eyestone said.
Copyright Brigham Young University 5 Apr 2007
