After several weeks of training and five meets complete, the ISU men’s track and field team will attempt to continue its success on Feb. 23, when it competes in the Big 12 Championships.

The Cyclones have had all but one meet in Ames this season and will also be hosting the Big 12 Championships. 

This will be the fifth time the Big 12 Championships have been held at Lied Recreation Athletic Center, but the first time the event has been at Iowa State since 2010.

“The familiarity of how your day is going to go, being able to sleep in your own bed, eat your own food, and those types of things definitely benefit the team,” said ISU coach Corey Ihmels. “Our track is unique because it’s 300 meters and a lot of the tracks we run on throughout the year are 200 meters, and hopefully we take this advantage and over-achieve throughout the meet.”

Traveling became an issue for the other nine teams due to Winter Storm Q, which hit Ames on Feb. 21. Big 12 officials have made the decision to postpone the meet until Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s always a worry and we’re fortunate that we don’t have to travel — so we don’t have to worry about that, but we’re worried about the officials and the different things that we need here to run the meet,” Ihmels said earlier in the week on the meet and Winter Storm Q.

The event schedules will remain the same and will resume Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

The Cyclones have a pair of runners in the distance events vying to defend their titles as Big 12 champions. Senior Rico Loy won the mile run in a close race last year and junior Edward Kemboi won the 800-meter dash.

“The mile is looking really good this year in the Big 12, but it always does, so I can’t let that get into my head,” Loy said. “I’ve put more pressure on me than last year, especially since this is my last year too; I really want do well.”

Freshman thrower Jan Jeuschede will be competing in his first Big 12 Championship.

“I don’t really have any placement expectations; I just want to have fun,” Jeuschede said. “I try not to worry about placement; I just want a new personal record, and if I do that, the placement will come.”

With four out of 10 teams in the conference ranked in the top 25, the Big 12 Championships will be competitive and could come down to the final event.