This weekend the No. 25 WKU men’s track and field program will travel with their female counterparts to compete in what Head Coach Erik Jenkins described as one of the more elite meets in the country: the Florida Relays in Gainesville. 

This meet will include thousands of athletes from the collegiate level and even fields entries at the high school level. WKU men’s and women’s will begin competition on Friday and finish on Saturday.

“The Florida Relays are a very selective meet, especially for the relays—you better be good to be running in those relays.” Jenkins said. “We’re grateful to have the opportunity for a solid presence at these bigger meets. It only helps us across the board.” 

Some of the NCAA’s top men’s programs will be in competition, including host school No. 2 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 11 Alabama, No. 15 Penn State, No. 16 Tennessee, and No. 22 Kentucky. 

WKU track and field is a rather small team in terms of roster size, but has had crucial performances from several newer members of the program, including sophomores Ventavius Sears and Emmanuel Dasor. 

Sears and Dasor were major factors in WKU’s first Conference USA indoor championship just months ago. 

Dasor alone earned the Hilltoppers 26 points in the championships in February by sweeping the 200-meter dash.

He set a new personal record of 21.10 seconds, winning him an individual crown. His time was the second fastest in program history. 

Last year, Sears was named most outstanding freshman in the Sun Belt Conference after he scored points in four different events in the championships. 

After running in a 4×400 and a 4×100 at the NCAA outdoor championships, Sears was able to reach a fourth and fifth place win for the Hilltoppers, putting them  which made WKU the only non-SEC school at the NCAA’s to do so. 

“You might not know us when we show up, but you will respect us when we leave,” Jenkins said. “Always take that attitude because if its not a perfect day people will respect it. “