The Georgetown track and field team will be flying all over the country to compete in three different meets this weekend. The long-distance runners head to Palo Alto to run in the Cardinal Relays at Stanford, sprinters and jumpers will compete at Auburn in the Tiger Track Classic and a third group will go head to the Colonial Relays at William and Mary.

The reason for sending runners to different places is simple, according to Director of Track and Field Patrick Henner: give the athletes the best chance at qualifying for the NCAA regionals in the best climate possible

“Typically for distance races, having cool, dry air is really important,” Henner said. “It makes running the times much easier. Typically at these California meets, they run all the races at night. The weather is cool and the air is dry, so it’s really fast running conditions for distance runners. Our sprinters and jumpers are going to do a lot better if it’s warmer weather during the day, so that’s why we’re sending them to Auburn.”

The runners that have been chosen to attend these events have been selected because their coaches feel that they have a legitimate chance at making the NCAA regionals.

“The people we are sending out to Stanford or to Auburn all should have a very good shot at qualifying for that first round,” Henner said. “We’ve got other athletes that are running Colonial that maybe aren’t quite ready to do that, or they’re going to take a trip later in the season to try and put up their times.”

Henner is optimistic about the athletes he is sending to each meet.

“I think everybody that we’re sending is ready to run really well, especially [graduate student] Amanda Kimbers and [senior] Deseree King on the women’s sprint,” Henner said.

King finished the indoor season earning first team All-American honors in the women’s distance medley relay at the NCAA Championships in March. In her first 4-x-400 meter relay race of the outdoor season at Richmond last weekend, King, along with Kimbers, senior Chelsea Cox and senior Becca DeLoache took first place with a time of 3:50.77. King also placed second in the women’s 400m hurdles.

Kimbers, in her first event of the outdoor season, won the women’s 100m dash with a time of 12.00 at Richmond. Both women will be traveling to Auburn.

As for the men’s team, Henner expects all of his athletes to put up potential qualifying times at Auburn this weekend.

“[Junior] Tyler Smith got off to a great start at Richmond, [and so did sophomore] Devante Washington, [sophomore] Mike Andre also on the men’s,” Henner said. “[Senior] Eghosa Aghayere is sitting at number eight in the triple jump, but he’s going to jump again at Auburn. Hopefully he’ll put up an even better jump out there.”

Aghayere was named the Big East Male Field Athlete of the Week for his performance at Richmond. The senior’s triple-jump mark of 15.39m was a personal best and also earned him a first-place finish at the meet. He holds the best mark in the Big East this season.

Smith placed sixth in the 100m dash and 16th in the 400m dash at last weekend.

Washington and Andre were both a part of the third-place men’s 4-x-400m relay squad, which put up a time of 3:18.55.

Henner also feels good about the long-distance runners on the men’s side he is sending to Stanford.

“We’ve got some very good distance runners going out to Stanford,” Henner said. “I think pretty much everybody we’re sending out there has a great shot at putting their mark up.”

If Henner’s plan is successful, his team will return to the Hilltop at the end of the weekend having had several athletes qualify for NCAA regionals. That would give the qualifiers plenty of time to prepare for the meet, which does not take place until the last week of May.