A big weekend lies ahead for the ISU woman’s track team that will determine which athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships. 

A select number of Cyclone track and field athletes will compete against many Division I, II, and III teams across the nation Saturday at the Lied Recreation Center.

“Only the athletes that are close to making it will compete,” said Travis Hartke, assistant coach for Iowa State.

After a score that tied the highest amount of points the women’s track team has ever put up at the Big 12 meet, a few members of the women’s track team have a strong opportunity to make the list.

Junior Betsy Saina is the only member of the track team to qualify for the NCAA Championships so far. She ran the 5,000 meter run in 15:50.74 at the ISU Classic in February.

For the throws group, Cyclones Laishema Hampton and Danielle Frere have high hopes going into this meet considering they are ranked 17th in the nation.

In the NCAA qualifiers, typically the top 14 throwers are picked for the Championships. This leaves a small window for the two throwers to earn that spot.

Throws coach Grant Wall believes that they have a good shot of making it.

“They have been looking great in practice and our progression over the year has been really good,” Wall said. “Everybody else is just finishing out the year and trying to get one more big mark.”

As for the rest of the team, the main focus right now is switching over to outdoor training.

The warm weather the team longs for has finally arrived allowing the track team to run in the fresh air and with some breeze.

The NCAA Qualifier begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lied Recreational Athletic Center.