The ISU track and field team will honor perhaps its most decorated coach with the running of the inaugural Bill Bergan Multi Events and Invitational this weekend.

Bergan was Iowa State’s first cross country coach in 1971 and also took the reigns as track and field coach in 1976.

Over the next 20 years, Bergan would coach 104 ISU All-Americans, win 20 Big Eight Conference Titles (10 in cross country, five in indoor track and 10 in outdoor track) and coach the Cyclones to NCAA Cross Country National Championships in 1989 and 1994.

Current track and field coach Corey Ihmels ran for Bergan for the first three years of his All-American career.

The multi events, which involves the men’s and women’s heptathlon and pentathlon, will begin at 1:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, followed by the invitational which will include a full slate of track and field events beginning Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Lied Recreational Athletic Center.

Unlike last weekend’s ISU Open, which was composed of primarily Division II, Division III and junior college athletes, a contingent of Division I schools will make the trip to Ames, including Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Missouri.

“It should be a completely different atmosphere compared to the ISU Open,” jumps and multi-events coach Pete Herber said.

Herber will have the only coaching duties today and Friday as he will be watching junior Jamal Currica in the men’s heptathlon and sophomore Mallory Henderson in the women’s pentathlon.

“It’s our first meet [with the heptathlon and pentathlon events] so we are really looking for a springboard to the conference meet,” Herber said.

Another one of Herber’s jumpers, sophomore high jumper Derek Alderks hopes to go jump-for-jump with some “seven footers,” jumpers that can clear the bar at seven feet off the ground, this weekend.

“It’s great to jump against the seven footers because I can look at them and see where exactly I want to be,” Alderks said.

Alderks had the second best meet of his collegiate career, placing fourth in last week’s ISU Open with a jump of 6-06.75.

On the women’s side, junior hurdler Jenna Caffrey won the 60–meter hurdles for the second straight year at the ISU Open with a time of 8.40 seconds.

Caffrey’s time was fast enough for an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, but for Caffrey, she was more proud to edge out former Iowa All-Big 10 hurdler Peaches Roach.

“I wasn’t as focused on time in that race,” Caffrey said. “I just wasn’t going to let her beat me on my track.”

Caffrey welcomes the competition for this weekend as she knows the tougher the competition, the better preparation it will be for her when she looks ahead to the Big 12 Indoor Championships in February.

Caffrey will be working towards cutting three tenths of a second off of her 8.40 second mark in order to reach the NCAA automatic time of 8.10 seconds.

“Hitting the provisional [time] doesn’t make you safe [to qualify],” Caffrey said. “Each race is going to be more and more competitive as the year goes on.”