The Iowa men’s track and field team will continue its streak of home meets this weekend in the form of the third-annual Wieczorek Invitational. The meet will act as the third of four home indoor meets this season.

Joining Iowa in the competition will be Arizona, Baylor, Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Purdue, and Wisconsin.

The meet will begin at 2 p.m. today in the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex with the weight throw. The running events will commence at 5 p.m. in the Rec Building. The competition will resume on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Rec Building.

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The meet is held in honor of former Hawkeye track and field icon Larry Wieczorek. Wieczorek spent the better part of five decades as a student-athlete and a coach in the program.

Director of Track and Field Joey Woody is excited about competing in the highly competitive meet.

“We have some new teams coming in this year, which is exciting,” Woody said. “I think having experience with this competition for a couple of years now, and especially with last year’s success, that we are prepared to take advantage of a great opportunity like this.”

Woody also relished the idea that all eyes in the realm of track and field will be on Iowa City this weekend.

“We are at a real high level right now,” he said. “We have athletes who are ranked very highly in all of their event areas, so I think it is going to be fun. It is always enjoyable to be able to have that recognition and have people excited about our program and our facility.”

All-American Mar’Yea Harris looks forward to being in the center of the spotlight this weekend, and he’s looking to take full advantage of it.

“We just want to prove that we can compete,” Harris said. “We know we are capable of going up against some of the best athletes in the nation.  We want to make our name known like some of the other teams in the NCAA.”

Wanting to be among the best in the NCAA is not a goal that can be achieved without a high volume of commitment, which, Jaylan McConico said, the Hawkeyes have demonstrated.

“We have stayed focused all season long,” he said. “Every race at practice is high competition between us. We keep coming back and doing what we need to do every day, and so far, that has translated to success.”

Woody often talks about sending a message. He has made the message he wants his team to send this weekend very clear.

“We want to send the message that we are ready to do some big things this year,” Woody said.  “Every event is going to be stacked. From the distance events to the throws to the jumps to the sprints and the hurdles, it is going to be nuts and very competitive. We just want to show the nation that we have a great track, great facilities, and we are ready to do some great things.”