UNO's track and field team will find out over the next two days if an early left turn to Albuquerque will help the Mavs get to their desired destination.

All the Mavs needed last year was another half-point to crack the top four and bring home a trophy from the NCAA Division II national championships.

Coach Steve Smith and his squad left for New Mexico on Tuesday for the meet that begins Friday simply because they needed a place to practice. The Sapp Fieldhouse on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus has been set up for this weekend's Division II wrestling national championships.

So getting to Albuquerque for the two-day national track and field meet could prove beneficial for the budding Mavs program.

“We should be in the top 10 just like last year,” Smith said. “That's one of our goals every year, but last year we thought we could be fifth and just missed fourth place. There's a chance, but there's teams like Lincoln (Missouri), Ashland, Adams State and Grand Valley State who are so strong every year.”

Smith said this year's meet is being run on a banked track set up at the Albuquerque Convention Center, where the U.S. Indoor National Championships were held at the end of February.

The Mavs will have some firepower at the top of three events. Junior Anja Puc has the nation's top time in the 800-meter run, and Nkeiruka Domike is leading Division II in the triple jump. Shot put standout Heather Minssen is ranked third with a top throw of 49 feet, 2¼ inches.

Smith said Puc and Domike have been atop the leader board since the start of the season and have continued to better their marks the past two months. But both know those marks don't matter unless they can at least meet those expectations.

“When you get to the national meet, everyone is good,” Smith said. “There are a lot of people who can win. You've got to be able to perform at that level that got you here, otherwise you're going to get beat.”

Puc, from Medvode, Slovenia, didn't start running the 800 until last season, and now she's at the top of the Division II leaders list with a 2:07.89. She also posted a school-record time of 2:05.91 at the European Team Championships last summer in Norway.

Domike, from Nigeria, is the defending Nigerian triple jump champion with a personal best of 45-9¼, and she also won the title in 2006.

“She's never jumped indoors before, so this is really early in the year for her to be jumping,” Smith said. “If she was still home, she wouldn't be jumping at all yet.”

The Mavs also have an extra boost of confidence after winning their second consecutive MIAA conference indoor title last month. UNO defeated runner-up Missouri Southern 127-109.5 after winning the crown a year ago by just 1.5 points.

“I knew we could challenge for the championship, but I didn't think we'd win it by almost 20 points,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can continue that this week with the confidence like we did last year, rise to the occasion and have a PR.”

Contact the writer:

444-1201, alexsdad@mail.com

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