LARAMIE, Wyo. – The University of Wyoming track & field team will travel to a familiar site, the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M., to face off against conference foes at the 2018 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships Thursday through Saturday. With a number of positive performances and UW all-time top 10 marks under their belts already this indoor season, the Pokes will look to continue re-writing the program record books while competing for team conference titles this weekend.
 
In the sprints, Cowgirl juniors Jerayah Davis and Jordan Edmonds have created a formidable one-two punch that could do some serious damage at the conference meet. Davis is ranked second in the MW for the women's 60 meters with an altitude-adjusted, season-best time of 7.40 seconds at the CU Invitational earlier this season. She will battle with San Diego State standout Ashley Henderson for the conference title, who edged Davis for the conference title last season and currently holds the MW lead with an altitude-adjusted time of 7.21. Meanwhile, Edmonds ranks third on the conference list for the women's 200 meters after posting the No. 2 time on the UW all-time list, 24.02, at Friday's Arkansas Qualifier.
 
On the men's side, sophomore Jace Marx looks to move up from his fifth-place seeding in the men's 60 meters to challenge for a top-three finish, while he is also ranked in the conference's top eight in the 200 meters heading into the conference championships. The Wyoming hurdles squad has quietly put together a good season as well, as freshman McCade Johnson has shown consistency for the Cowboys and ranks seventh in the MW for the 60-meter hurdles heading into the weekend. Johnson's altitude-adjusted time of 8.33 from the Powder River Dual puts him just outside the UW all-time top 10 for the event.
 
Distance has been one of the Pokes' strongest event areas this season, as the Cowboys and Cowgirls have re-written much of the UW indoor record books in multiple events. Junior Bryce Ailshie will specialize in the 800 meters at the conference meet after clocking a season-best time of 1:51.06 at the CU Invitational, good enough for seventh in the conference. The Mountain West is particularly tough in the distance events, but a number of Cowboys and Cowgirls have the potential to break into the league's top eight in various events. Daniel Hintz clocked an impressive mile of 4:06.09 at the Husky Classic, good for No. 5 on the UW all-time list, while senior Ricky Faure is a two-time All-MW competitor in the indoor 800 meters and has a goal of adding a third award to his list of accomplishments. Michael Downey and Christopher Henry have both placed themselves on UW's all-time list for the 5,000 meters this season and will provide key opportunities for the Cowboys to score in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters in Albuquerque. For the Cowgirls, Emily Person and Kerry White provide a strong duo in the 800 meters while Lauren Hamilton will try to improve on her sixth-place finish in the mile from last year's conference championship meet. The Cowgirls will try for a repeat performance in the distance medley relay after taking home a third-place finish and All-MW award last season.
 
The UW jumps group has already put together a very impressive indoor season and will attempt to add all-conference honors to its list of 2017-18 accomplishments. Junior Ja'la Henderson is Wyoming's sole conference leader heading into the league championship meet after she demolished the UW program record in the women's indoor triple jump at the CU Invitational with a mark of 42 feet, 11 inches, which leads the conference by over a foot. Henderson, a former MW indoor champion in the long jump, is also ranked third in that event with a mark of 19-10.75 at the Albuquerque Convention Center just two weekends ago. Freshman William Nolan has established himself as the leader of the Cowboy jumpers and ranks second in the men's triple jump heading into the weekend, posting a mark of 47-11.75 at the CU Invitational. Nolan is also sixth on the conference list in the long jump.
 
The UW throwers have been making steady improvements all season and look to continue the trend this weekend. Sophomore Hap Frketich posted a career-best mark of 58-4.5 in the weight throw at the Don Kirby Invite held at the same site as the conference championship meet, a throw that ranks fourth in the league. Meanwhile, senior Garrett Lynch ranks seventh in the conference in the shot put after a season-best toss of 54-0 at the same meet. For the Cowgirls, Emelda Malm-Annan is sixth in the weight throw with a toss of 57-6.5 and is in search of her second career All-MW award in the event after she was the conference champion in 2016.
 
The 2018 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships will get started with the multi-events at 10 a.m. MT on Thursday. Follow along with @wyo_track on twitter to stay updated with all the action from Albuquerque, and visit TheMW.com to get further details about the league showdown.