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It’s championship weekend for track and field. Chicago is hosting the UAA Championships this Saturday at Henry Crown Field House. This meet determines the conference champion and is also a great opportunity for individual competitors to post results that will qualify them for nationals.

“Track is unique in that teams don’t qualify for nationals, but individuals qualify on behalf of a team,” explained fourth-year Kristin Constantine, one of the captains of the women’s team. “Last year when we got the fourth-place trophy, it was earned by a team of five women. Liz [Lawton] and I are the only women that are going [to nationals] for certain so far, so this meet gives people a really great opportunity to get great times in order to go.”

The women hope to excel again on the national stage this year, and the first step is finishing well this weekend.

“Right now, we’re in a position to win the UAA,” said Constantine. “We aim our training cycle to peak for this week. Plus, we have the advantage of being at home, which is really exciting.”It’s championship weekend for track and field. Chicago is hosting the UAA Championships this Saturday at Henry Crown Field House. This meet determines the conference champion and is also a great opportunity for individual competitors to post results that will qualify them for nationals.

“Track is unique in that teams don’t qualify for nationals, but individuals qualify on behalf of a team,” explained fourth-year Kristin Constantine, one of the captains of the women’s team. “Last year when we got the fourth-place trophy, it was earned by a team of five women. Liz [Lawton] and I are the only women that are going [to nationals] for certain so far, so this meet gives people a really great opportunity to get great times in order to go.”

The women hope to excel again on the national stage this year, and the first step is finishing well this weekend.

“Right now, we’re in a position to win the UAA,” said Constantine. “We aim our training cycle to peak for this week. Plus, we have the advantage of being at home, which is really exciting.”

Similarly, the men’s team is also looking forward to competing well this weekend. However, they’ll have to take out the favorite, Wash U, to come out on top.

“Going into the meet, our men are solidly in second place in the conference,” said fourth-year Brian Andreycak, one of the captains of the men’s team. “Wash U is the favorite, with Emory behind us.”

The men’s team is still looking strong despite going into this meet as underdogs. Like the women’s team, their training schedule has been tailored to allow enough recovery time for this meet from previous competitions in order to gear the team towards a peak performance.

“We’re a little bit banged up and sore,” said Andreycak, “but we should be able to pull ourselves together and have some great performances this weekend.”

Like the women’s team, only individual performances count in qualifying for nationals. Although the men’s team is ranked on a national level, they do not qualify as a whole.

“We would obviously like to have people put forth performances which would get them into the national meet, but we will likely be asking our guys to do more events, possibly taking away from their potential to hit their best possible times,” explains Andreycak.

Because it is a UAA meet, both teams will have to shuffle their competitors around because only a certain number of athlete are allowed to be on the official UAA roster. For Constantine, she is still confident in her team’s ability to perform even with having to compete in multiple events.

The UAA meet typically is one of the strongest in the country, so the pressure will be on this weekend for Chicago athletes. Almost every event features national-caliber competition. UAA meets aren’t often held in Henry Crown—the last time around was in 2007. The rookie of the year that year was alumnus Nicole Murphy, who just graduated last year with several All-American titles to her name. Constantine is now continuing the legacy of Chicago dominance in the throws, and she’s confident that the rest of her teammates will follow her example.

“When the final rosters are scored up in preparation for the meet, I believe that we’ll have the highest anticipated point total,” she says.

Similarly, the men’s team is also looking forward to competing well this weekend. However, they’ll have to take out the favorite, Wash U, to come out on top.

“Going into the meet, our men are solidly in second place in the conference,” said fourth-year Brian Andreycak, one of the captains of the men’s team. “Wash U is the favorite, with Emory behind us.”

The men’s team is still looking strong despite going into this meet as underdogs. Like the women’s team, their training schedule has been tailored to allow enough recovery time for this meet from previous competitions in order to gear the team towards a peak performance.

“We’re a little bit banged up and sore,” said Andreycak, “but we should be able to pull ourselves together and have some great performances this weekend.”

Like the women’s team, only individual performances count in qualifying for nationals. Although the men’s team is ranked on a national level, they do not qualify as a whole.

“We would obviously like to have people put forth performances which would get them into the national meet, but we will likely be asking our guys to do more events, possibly taking away from their potential to hit their best possible times,” explains Andreycak.

Because it is a UAA meet, both teams will have to shuffle their competitors around because only a certain number of athlete are allowed to be on the official UAA roster. For Constantine, she is still confident in her team’s ability to perform even with having to compete in multiple events.

The UAA meet typically is one of the strongest in the country, so the pressure will be on this weekend for Chicago athletes. Almost every event features national-caliber competition. UAA meets aren’t often held in Henry Crown—the last time around was in 2007. The rookie of the year that year was alumnus Nicole Murphy, who just graduated last year with several All-American titles to her name. Constantine is now continuing the legacy of Chicago dominance in the throws, and she’s confident that the rest of her teammates will follow her example.

“When the final rosters are scored up in preparation for the meet, I believe that we’ll have the highest anticipated point total,” she said.