Select Huskies look for national marks at Stanford

        After spending most of its time in California during spring break, the Husky track team will make a trip back to the sun this weekend to compete in the Stanford Invitational.

The Huskies will take only 12 members to California to go toe-to-toe with some of the top college athletes in the nation. Given the elevated competition of this meet, it is an excellent opportunity for some Huskies to gain qualifying marks and to see how they stack up against quality competitors.

        "From around the country, every [school] will be sending a handful of kids," coach Orin Richburg said. "A lot of the national qualifiers have come out of the Stanford meet. A lot of teams will send a very select group of athletes -- the ones that they feel need this type of competition to get a national qualifying mark."



        "[We are sending] the people that we feel down the line have a better chance at qualifying for the NCAA championships, and we're hoping we can go down and get some of those marks so we can get those out of the way, especially in the [distances]," said Richburg.



        The stiffer competition will help athletes compete at a higher level. 



         "At this meet, the level of competition will cause our performances to be better," sprinter Chelsie Pentz said. "When you're winning races at meets where there isn't any competition, you obviously don't have to run very fast. Even if you get beat by someone that runs real fast, at least they will make you run fast as well."



        Washington's top sprinter, Ja'Warren Hooker, is not phased by the upcoming competition though.



        "Every meet is a training meet," Hooker said. "So I am not putting any stress on myself. I just go out and step up to the competition and run the same way I've always been running."



        Other key Huskies making the trip include distance runners Anna Aoki and David Bazzi, as well as pole-vaulter Brad Walker, hurdler Kelsey Sheppard and high-jumper Sean Steele.