Meet Notes | Don Kirby Invitational Info | Husky Classic Info

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The University of Wyoming track & field team will aim to divide and conquer this weekend, heading to two prestigious meets that feature nationally competitive fields. The Wyoming distance crew will make a trip to the west coast, heading to Seattle, Wash., for the Husky Classic. Meanwhile, UW's sprinters, jumpers and throwers will head south to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Don Kirby Invitational. Both meets will take place on Friday and Saturday.
 
Headlining Wyoming's contingent at Don Kirby will be junior Cowgirl Ja'la Henderson, who was named Mountain West Women's Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday after crushing her own UW women's indoor triple jump record at the Colorado Invitational last Friday. Henderson's mark of 42 feet, 11 inches puts her atop the conference rankings by over a foot, while she is currently tied for 14th place in the nation in the event. Amazingly, she never competed in the triple jump collegiately before this season, but has shown tremendous coachability under the technical mastery of UW associate head coach Quincy Howe.
 
Freshman jumper William Nolan, who posted collegiate personal records in both jumps events last weekend, has also taken to Howe's coaching and is currently ranked second in the Mountain West for the triple jump and fifth in the league for the long jump. Nolan will get his first crack at a nationally competitive field this weekend at Don Kirby, as will junior Jerayah Davis and the rest of the Wyoming sprints squad. Davis was back in form at the Colorado Invitational, winning the women's 60 meters with a blazing time of 7.38 seconds.
 
While the UW jumpers have flourished under Howe's guidance, Wyoming throwers have been quietly improving under the direction of new UW assistant coach Carrie Lane. True freshman Addison Henry had a breakout performance in the shot put at CU, tossing a collegiate personal best 46-2.5 that currently ranks 10th in the MW this season. Senior teammate Hannah Carr is ranked right behind Henry in 11th after a collegiate indoor best of 46-2 at the Powder River Dual. Meanwhile, senior Garrett Lynch tossed a season-best 53-9 in the men's shot put at CU and is ranked seventh in the conference, while sophomore weight throw specialist Hap Frketich is also seventh in the MW after a season-best 56-0 at the same meet. The throws crew will get a look at the site of the 2018 MW indoor championships this weekend, testing the waters against a number of talented opponents.
 
The UW distance crew will get its first chance of the season to run at sea-level in Seattle, with hopes that a high volume of altitude training will translate to competitive times against a tough field at the University of Washington. UW's distance runners have performed at a high level under associate head coach Amanda Clower and assistant coaches Scott Dahlberg and Whitney Henderson this season, recording six new additions to the UW all-time top 10 lists already this year.
 
Both the Don Kirby Invitational and Husky Classic will assist Wyoming athletes from every event area in preparation for the 2018 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships, which are set to take place Feb. 22-24 in Albuquerque. Stay tuned to @wyo_track on twitter for updates throughout Wyoming's busy weekend in Albuquerque and Seattle.