AUBURN, Ala.—The Auburn track and field team will be in action for the fourth weekend in a row as the Tigers will compete at the USC Open in Columbia, S.C., while a trio of distance runners will race at the Music City Challenge in Nashville, Tenn. It will mark the fourth consecutive weekend in the state of South Carolina for the Tigers, including third time in Columbia.
Auburn is coming off a strong weekend in Columbia where the Tigers posted 27 collegiate or personal bests at the South Carolina Invitational. Auburn had one event win from sophomore Maura Huwalt, who won the women's shot put with an SEC season-best mark of 16.41m/53-10.25.
"I'm pleased with how we did as a team last weekend," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "I'm looking at the vast majority of the team and how we are progressing. At the end of the day it's about marks, throws and distances. A lot of times you have to put that on the back burner and focus on getting there and griding it out and competing. If you do that, the marks are going to take care of themselves."
The USC Indoor Open will be a one-day event starting at 11 a.m. ET with the men's weight throw. Action on the track will take place at 12:05 p.m. ET with the women's 60m hurdles prelims. The meet will conclude at 6 p.m. ET with the men's 4x400m relay.
"This is a good weekend for us," Spry said. "We're going to see a lot of different teams, a lot of mid-major teams. The first three meets we've had, have all been against Power 5 or Group of 5 teams, so we've been in the mix every meet. There will be some bigger schools there, but this will be better for us training wise."
Distance runners Joyce Kimeli, Presley Weems and Abbey Zane will race in Nashville against a more competitive field. Weems and Zane will race Friday in the mile at 7 p.m. CT and 800m on Saturday at 1:20 p.m., while Kimeli will be in action Friday at 8 p.m. in the 5000m.
"It will be a more competitive field in the distances and will give them an opportunity to compete and post a good time in preparations for SECs," Spry said. "This weekend I'm hoping for a little more progression from the team and a little more sharpness because after this weekend we are off next week and then we head to Fayetteville for the SEC Championships."
The Tigers will have their first off weekend if the season next week before returning to action February 25-27 at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
