The men will be all alone at Saturday’s Northwest Missouri State Invitational in Maryville, Mo.

Training for bigger meets coming up, no women will compete, and only the sprinters from the men’s team will make the trip.

Though it is uncommon for the women’s team to not make the trip, sprints coach Scott Roberts said his runners will benefit more by not going.

“We will keep training over the weekend. [If we went], we would have to taper down on Thursday, and now we can keep training,” Roberts said. “We just get more from staying at home. [The women] have to get ready for the bigger meets.”

Only a portion of the men’s team will compete at Northwest’s Invite. Men’s head coach Steve Lynn said the only people who will compete will be mostly training for the hurdles. He said this meet has its advantages for those competing.

“[Iowa State] will only have 10-12 guys running,” Lynn said. “We look at this meet as a way to give guys experience. We need to get more experience, especially in the hurdles.”

Lynn said there are reasons why the majority of the team will not go.

“This will not be a big, competitive meet, although there will be good people in every event,” Lynn said. “This meet will give us more experience and help us get ready for two big meets — the fun Missouri meet and the Drake Relays.”

Hurdler Ryan Boyington, who regionally qualified in the 400-meter dash at last weekend’s Arizona State Invitational, said he needs more actual meet experience in the hurdles.

“There was not a 400-meter hurdle event in the indoor season, so this will be my second time [in the event] this year,” Boyington said. “This is just another race to help [me] get a feel for the hurdles.”

Boyington said he hopes there is good competition present because it will help him run better.

“I don’t know for sure if there will be good athletes in the hurdles, but I am hoping so,” Boyington said. “Hopefully, there will be good competition and good races.”

Next week will be one of the big meets both teams are training for — the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Mo., April 9 and 10.