The Wildcats are headed to Texas Tech Shootout this weekend after a strong showing in January.

The event starts Friday at Tech, and runners for ACU know that while this is great practice, the ultimate goal is to be the most prepared for conference. Distance runner Soren Underwood said while the team is doing well now, the ultimate goal is to be ready in a few weeks for the indoor tournament, followed by another strong showing in the conference championships.

“Really we’re running these to kind of hit our peak right around the conference meet,” Underwood said. “We’ve been running and performing really well, and I’m excited to see how well we run when it counts the most.”

The women have a mixture of strong veterans like the Hackett sisters, weight thrower Lonnie Smith and a couple of young throwers like Tori Hardy. The men are a young team of developing talent as some of their older athletes redshirted for eligibility next year. Their last competition was the Texas Tech Multis, where eight Wildcats set personal bests in their respective events.

The Wildcats compete Friday and Saturday this week and head back to Tech on Feb. 16 for the Texas Tech Matador Qualifier before competing at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 21 in Birmingham, AL. The Southland Conference Outdoor Championships are May 4-6 in San Antonio.