The ISU men’s track and field team hopes to turn some heads this weekend as the indoor track season nears its end.

At this weekend’s Big 12 Championships in Lincoln, Neb., the men plan to have better finishes than they had last year, head coach Steve Lynn said.

“Last year, we placed in only four individual events and no one [placed] in the top four, which is not good by our standards,” Lynn said. “We have a few guys who can contend in three or four of their events. I will be disappointed if [the team] doesn’t place in the top five.”

Hurdler Dan Zelik and distance runner Dan Taylor also expect good performances this year.

“This is a big meet [in a] good conference. We have a lot of guys who can place in a lot of events,” Zelik said. “The young runners are looking forward to running well in their first big meet. Us older ones want to run to our potential.”

“We will do much better this year because we have good sprinters, good throwers, good jumps and [good] everything going to Lincoln,” Taylor said. “Last year I think we got 12th place; that will not happen this year. We will take the top competition down.”

Zelik said he is looking forward to this meet since it’s been more than a year since his last big meet — he missed the 2003 season while on an internship with NASA.

“I am confident that I will do well, but I don’t want to jinx it,” Zelik said.

This meet will be a stern test for the Cyclones. Some of the nation’s best competition resides in the Big 12 Conference.

“[The Big 12] has always been one of the top two track conferences in the nation,” Lynn said. “This conference meet is very important. You always compare yourself against the other conference teams.”

Taylor said he’s confident of a showing the Cyclones can be proud of.

“We will be competing against the best competition in the nation, and we all still think we can win,” Taylor said. “We aren’t going to be happy ’til we are number one. We will show everyone that Iowa State track is back.”

Taylor said he wants to win both of his events for different reasons.

“In the distance medley relay, I am running with my good buddies,” he said. “I don’t want to let them down. I run the final leg, so when I get the baton I am going to smoke around the track. In the [three-kilometer run], it will be a good opportunity to run fast and against the best competition in the nation. I want to show everyone that I can run the 3K.”