The ISU women’s track and field team will compete at the Jim Duncan Invitational this weekend for the first time during the outdoor season.

Although the team will be whole, only specific runners are competing.

“We’re probably traveling 25 percent of our athletes,” said sprints coach Nate Wiens. “It’s more of a weekend off for our people that are national qualifiers… And a race for those people who need a race to get sharp.”

Wiens said the athletes competing in this weekend’s invitational will be those vying to hit personal records and needing to stay on top of their game. For runners that are hanging back in Ames, they will have the weekend to themselves.

Redshirt freshman Krista Shoeman will be one of the athletes competing for a personal best this weekend, as well as some bragging rights on the side.

“My main personal goal is to beat my rival from high school,” Shoeman said. “[I want to] stay on my stride progression and to hit that and get more used to the race in general.”

Junior Donnise Powell will be one of the 75 percent staying home this weekend. The weekend off for Powell does not look like a normal resting weekend for a track athlete, but she said her goals are musts.

“I am glad to say that I am taking the weekend off, taking a breather,” Powell said. “[I am] trying to get a lot of my schoolwork done for the school year, out of the way.”

Powell will be returning in two weeks for the Mt. SAC relays. By then, she said she hopes to be caught up so she could solely focus on the meets and competition.

When it comes to competition in the Big 12, coaches and athletes have agreed it is the toughest to compete in. Wiens said he does not expect it to faze his athletes, however.

“The [expectation] is always if you put the jersey on, you compete to your fullest ability,” Wiens said. “My philosophy is [that] you cross the finish line, and you’ve given me everything you possibly could and you’ve given yourself everything you possibly could.”

Wiens said with Shoeman, they are still trying to hit a regional time. Hopes are high for Shoeman as she enters this weekend with plenty of training and preparation.

“I’m trying to work on my form over the hurdles,” Shoeman said. “And with our training, that has really improved a lot, and it hasn’t been as sloppy as before.”

The women leave for Drake, the site of the Jim Duncan Invitational, Friday morning and events begin Friday afternoon. The women will conclude the weekend on Saturday evening.