A first attempt at understanding the ISU women’s track and field schedule is as difficult as being in two places at the same time.

It’s not a baseball schedule loaded with games nearly everyday of the summer, but it contains a wide range of meets that are spread across the country, including some on the same day in different locations.

But what’s even more unique than having up to three meets on the same day is there are some meets on the schedule that provide little to no importance to the team.

“It is not [important],” said ISU associate head coach Fletcher Brooks in reference to the Jim Duncan Invitational on Saturday. “In level of importance, it would be very much toward the bottom.”

Why does the team compete in meets that resemble little meaning?

“I think of it almost as a very focused practice because it is competition, so the athletes come and they’re very focused but my expectations are not as high as far as what we’re doing,” Brooks said. “[We sent] people who we thought would benefit from coming out and competing, despite the fact that we’re training through it.”

There was no question the athletes who competed benefited from the competition.

Junior sprinter/hurdler Alyssa Gonzalez finished first in the 400-meter hurdles, setting a personal record.

Redshirt seniors Anna Holtermann and Kayla Sanborn, and redshirt freshman Katie Reeves each added top-five performances in field events.

“I don’t really look at the meets as one’s more important than the other,” Gonzalez said. “It’s more just each one’s kind of a step to a bigger race. It’s more just trying to improve my time [and] trying to fix the little things.”

Gonzalez not only improved her performance in the 400-meter hurdles, but also got the opportunity to compete at Drake — the same location of the Drake Relays.

After only four athletes competed at the Jim Duncan Invitational, there will be a larger group competing in the upcoming weekend’s events. The team’s schedule lists the Mt. SAC Relays, Kansas Relays and LSU Alumni Gold for this week’s slate.

One of the most anticipated outdoor debuts for Iowa State will take place at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., as redshirt senior Katy Moen prepares to compete in her first outdoor race of her final season at Iowa State.

“[The meets before Big 12s] are fairly important just to get some experience and get some fast times in hopefully to qualify for regionals,” Moen said. “With Big 12s, you never know if it will be a fast race since it’s usually strategic. But just getting in the experience is invaluable at Big 12s.”

While the focus of the team remains on the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships, the smaller meets carry more weight than just a name on the schedule.

“Obviously [the meets leading up to the Big 12 Outdoor Championship] are not as important as the big meets,” said senior shot putter Christina Hillman. “Big 12s is important, regionals is important to get to nationals, but nationals is what I’m trying to peak for. It’s just a way to get competitions under my belt, so I can get more experience, especially with the discus. It’s another component of training.”