Photos by Mark Lambie, video by Sarah Duenas/El Paso Times
The NCAA's West Preliminary, officially the first rounds of the NCAA Track and Field Championships, is never going to be particularly popular among coaches.
What it does do, though, is create an opportunity and UTEP coach Mika Laaksonen sees a big one as his 16-person team heads to Austin for the three-day meet that begins Thursday.
"We didn't overuse people at conference, everybody has looked good at practice," Laaksonen said of his team, where athletes and relays will be looking for a top-12 finish that would advance them to the national championships in Eugene, Ore.