CWU track and field has a lot riding on this weekend, rolling into the GNAC indoor championship.

As the indoor season is coming to a close, CWU athletes are approaching a meet that could be a big opportunity for athletes to qualify for nationals.  As of right now three athletes would qualify for nationals, but that is expected to change after this weekend.

The “Top 16 athletes in the nation for indoor is expected to make the national meet in Alabama,” assistant track and field coach Brittany Aanstad said. “Our hope [is] that our athletes can improve their national marks this weekend putting them in the top 16 in the nation.”

As the season is winding down, the athletes that are close to getting national marks, and the athletes who have already met their marks, are feeling beat up.

“At this point we just need to keep our bodies rested and get our mind right for the races. We have trained all year for this and we have to trust our hard work will pay off,“ said senior hurdler Tianna Banfro.

Senior McKenna Emmert is ranked 9th for pole-vault and will be going to nationals. Senior Luke Plummer will be going to nationals for long jump.

Some athletes are looking to get that last personal record (PR) in their final meets before the season ends. A lot of athletes have different events that they race in, and in some cases some events might be a little more important as the season comes down to the wire.

“I am a long time overdue for a PR in the hurdles so I am hoping for that,” Banfro said.

Some athletes are looking for that extra split second that could send them into nationals, and if they don’t succeed they have one more event left after this weekend.

“Mariyah Vongsaveng is only about .1 seconds off from making it to nationals and as little as that may seem its very hard to reach,” Banfro said.

Unfortunately, some athletes are ending their indoor track careers with this meet.

“This is my last indoor meet, so it’s a bittersweet feeling heading into conference. I am ready to see my five years of hard work and determination pay off,” senior jumper Juliana Joy said.