Look for these highlights at Saturday’s Desert Heat Classic, Arizona’s last home track meet of the season: A sprint to the finish by top 800-meter runners and feats of strength by a woman who’s a triple-threat throwing phenom.
And that’s not all: Some of the nation’s best athletes from nine teams, including powerhouse Oregon, will compete at UA’s Drachman Stadium. Arizona State, UTEP, NAU, San Diego State, Cal State Northridge, New Mexico State and Stanford are among the other schools competing.
Field events start at 2:30 p.m.; UA Senior Day awards and running events begin at 5 p.m.
Wildcats Carlos Villarreal and Collins Kibet will look to keep close with UTEP’s Michael Saruni in the 800-meter run. Originally from Kenya, Saruni won the NCAA indoor championship in the 800 earlier this year in a scorching 1:45.15. That broke the meet record set in 2001 by Arizona’s Patrick Nduwimana.
Villarreal, who completed the NCAA season’s seventh-fastest 1,500 meters time last week, has run 1:49.22 this year at 800 meters. With his blistering finishing kick, however, the Rio Rico High School grad could go much faster.
Kibet, a redshirt senior from Kenya, has run 1:49.38 this season. He was the Pac-12 champion in the 800 in 2016, when he clocked his personal best of 1:46.87. Three Stanford runners and another competitor from UTEP will also compete.
James Li, the UA’s distance-runner coach, predicts “a very fast time” in the 800, given the strong competition and a cooler start time at 7:55 p.m.
Maggie Ewen of ASU is expected to dominate the women’s throwing events. One of the nation’s best collegiate athletes, Ewen leads NCAA female throwers in the shot put, discus and her specialty, the hammer throw. She is the defending NCAA hammer throw champion.
“She’s definitely a must-watch athlete,” said track writer Paul Merca, who will serve Saturday as the meet’s announcer.
A close duel is also anticipated in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, between UA freshman Maksims Sincukovs, who ranks 15th in the NCAA at 50.96, and ASU’s Khalil Parris, who is listed 17th at 51.03.
In a throwback to “old-school” track, athletes will run the mile instead of the more common 1,500 meters. In the women’s race, Oregon’s Sabrina Southerland, the NCAA 800-meter indoor champion, will battle Arizona’s Claire Green and other runners.
Oregon’s women’s team is ranked third in the NCAA and its men’s team is 10th. The Oregon sprinters and middle-distance runners will compete Saturday in Tucson while its other athletes are at Oregon State. ASU’s women are ranked 14th, largely on the strength of Ewen’s performances.
The UA men’s team is ranked second in the West behind Oregon.
