Arizona coach Fred Harvey will bank on thrower Jordan Geist, sprinter Maj Williams and other multievent athletes to score big this weekend in the battle for points at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships at the UA’s Drachman Stadium.

“Our men’s team goal is to be in the top three,” Harvey said, “and if we’re in the top three, we have a chance to win.”

To move toward that goal, Harvey said, “Our good people need to score where they’re supposed to score.” And that scoring load will land heavily on the athletes who will do double, triple or quadruple duty.

Take Geist, for example. Last year, he muscled his way to victory in the shot put and discus and a seventh in the hammer throw, tallying 22 points for the men’s team.

This year, Geist has the nation’s No. 1 throw in the shot (70 feet, 10 inches), but will be pursued by competitors bidding for an upset. Geist, ranks fourth in the conference in both the discus and hammer.

On Saturday, Geist will first compete in the hammer and a few hours later in the shot put. Doing an event before the shot event “may actually help me relax better” for the second competition, he said after a workout this week.

Williams sprinted for 15 points at the 2018 Pac-12 championships, including a scorching anchor leg in the 4x400, to take first in that relay. Williams had been hampered by an injury and the flu recently, but Harvey said he’s ready to roll.

In the 4x400 relay on Sunday, Williams will team with other stellar multievent runners, such as fellow sprinter Zakee Washington, James Smith and Maksims Sincukovs. Smith set the school’s freshman record in the 400 hurdles earlier this season; Sincukovs placed third in last year’s conference meet and seventh in the NCAA championships.

Another of the key athletes, Harvey said, is Philip Austin, No. 1 in the Pac-12 long jump. He also runs the third leg on the 4x400 relay, and Harvey and sprints coach Francesca Green hope he’ll cut into Oregon’s point total by scoring in the 100 or 200 meters.

“The multi-event athletes are vital,” Harvey said, “because I only get 12.5 scholarships” (by NCAA rule) for men and an equal number for women to cover all 21 track and field events.

Carlos Villarreal, the red-shirt junior from Rio Rico, will push for rare victories in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. That feat hasn’t been accomplished in 40 years or more. He ranks No. 1 in the conference – and second in the nation — in the 1,500 and No. 2 in the Pac-12 rankings at 800 meters.

Of course, Arizona needs specialists who compete in only one event to also come through. That would include Bailey Roth, No. 1 so far in the Pac-12 steeplechase, and Justice Summerset, No. 1 in the high jump. Both have returned strong this year after down seasons in 2018.

Another multitalented athlete, Tatum Waggoner, will attempt to improve her personal record (51.89) in the 400 meters. Her mark stands at No. 2 in the UA record book.

“The Pac-12 meet last year was Tatum’s coming-out party when she ran under 52 seconds,” Harvey said, “and she is running really well right now.”

Waggoner and her three teammates on the 4x400 relay — Karolina Pahlitzsch, Shannon Meisberger and Diana Gajda — will not only run to place well this weekend, but they are also eying a repeat to the NCAA championships in June.

Pahlitzsch and Meisberger will also be counted on to score well in the 400-meter hurdles, where Pahlitzsch ranks second in the conference and Meisberger fourth.

The women’s team is expected to pile up points in the high jump with Karla Teran, Alexa Porpaczy and Diana Ramos. Lillian Lowe, the Wildcats’ All-America jumper during the indoor track season, is red-shirting during the current outdoor season with an injury.

When it comes to competing in multievents, the season’s busiest performer may have been freshman Neysia Howard. She is not expected to run in the 4x400 relay this weekend, but she will take to the track in the 100, 200, long jump and 4x100 relay.

The finals in the men’s and women’s steeplechase and the 10,000 meters will be run Saturday, but the other running events will be contested in preliminary heats. In the field events, finals will be held in the men’s hammer, javelin, long jump, shot put, pole vault, high jump and the women’s javelin, shot put and long jump. All other finals are Sunday.

The competition brings to Tucson some of the nation’s top athletes from what Harvey calls “arguably the best track and field conference in the country.”

The Oregon men have captured the Pac-12 championships for 12 straight years, and they again are favored to take the title. UCLA, Stanford, USC and Arizona will go all-out to stop the Ducks’ streak. The Wildcats finished fourth last year.

Arizona has a number of front-line competitors but they will need important backup from a supporting cast. The top eight finishers in each event garner points with first getting 10 points, second 8, third 6 and the following places 5-4-3-2-1.

The USC women defeated Oregon in last year’s championships, and the two national powers are again expected to contend for the title. The UA women are projected to finish in the middle of the Pac-12.

The rankings by the U.S. track coaches are interesting but also somewhat confusing.

In the national rankings, which reward teams whose athletes are likely to score in the NCAA meet, the Oregon men are ranked seventh, followed by USC ninth, Stanford 12th, Arizona 14th and UCLA 22nd.

But in the regional rankings, UCLA is ranked best in the West, followed by Oregon, USC, Washington and Arizona.

Go figure. That’s why they’ll contest the championship on the track and not on paper.

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.