by Todd Burns
Daily Lobo
UNM head track coach Matt Henry will face off against his brother - Pat Henry, head track coach at Louisiana State University, this weekend.
The Lobo men's and women's track teams will travel to Baton Rouge, La. to face returning NCAA champions LSU on Saturday.
"Now is the time to start performing," assistant coach Mark Henry said. "You have to run real fast. The jumpers, vaulters and sprinters are all good down south."
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Great competition is one reason this meet was put on the Lobos' schedule. Mark Henry said that he expects the University of Louisiana-Monroe, Northwest State Louisiana University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University to attend the meet.
"This is the reason we are going," Mark Henry said. "One, we get a better understanding of where we are and where we need to be and secondly, if we are going to recruit from these places, they need to see our team."
The meet marks the first time in over 10 years that the UNM track team has crossed the Mississippi River.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team is leading the Mountain West Conference and hopes to improve its standings this weekend.
"This is the meet to break out," junior Chris Garofola said. "LSU is the national champs and we are going to show his brother [Pat Henry] that he [Matt Henry] is doing good work over here."
The team is traveling with a total of 35 men and women but is leaving without the multi-event athletes.
"We are arriving [in Albuquerque] on Sunday night and all of the heptathletes and decathletes will leave for Mount San Antonio College on Tuesday of next week," Henry said.
Mount San Antonio College is one of the most important and competitive track meets in the Western region. UNM coaches said they are expecting good performances from their multi-event athletes in San Antonio.
