TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Track and Field is set to host the Tucson Elite Classic this Thursday at Drachman Stadium. The Wildcats will also host the USATF Throws Festival on Saturday as a separate USATF event. Both competitions this weekend include only throws events, along with a couple of high jump entries as well.
 
The Wildcats will only have a limited number of participants this weekend in the hammer throw, shot put, javelin, and high jump. Marks at this meet do not count towards NCAA rankings, but they are eligible for USA rankings. As of now, the competition is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. MST on Thursday with the men's hammer throw. Saturday's events begin at 9:00 a.m. MST with the men's javelin, however, Jordan Geist will be the only Wildcat competing in the USATF competition on Saturday, throwing the shot put at 10:00 a.m. MST. Live results for all the events can be found here.
 
Arizona enters the weekend competition after a successful outing at the Pac-12 Championships. The throws squad did very well, scoring 44 points for the men and 12 for the women. Jordan Geist highlighted the weekend for the Wildcats, winning both the hammer throw and the shot put. Those wins gave him his fifth and sixth Pac-12 titles overall. Additionally, Geist is the second man and fourth person overall to win Pac-12 titles in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw. His hammer throw victory was the best heave in the event since 1996, with Geist's winning throw being 73.82m (242-2). His four Pac-12 titles in the shot put are the most ever by a man, and his six titles overall are tied for the most in conference history.
 
The success didn't stop with Geist for the Wildcat throwers though. After coming into the meet as the second seed, Jared O'Riley won the men's javelin title with a huge personal best throw of 71.79m (235-6), which is the fourth best in school history. He became the first Wildcat since 2000 to win the event at the conference championships. Zach Landa also posted a podium finish in the shot put, placing third overall in a shot put competition that the Wildcats dominated. Other point scorers at the conference championships who are also competing this weekend include Youssef Koudssi, who placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus with a PR throw, and Mackenna Orie, who also finished fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus with a new personal best as well.
 
Erin Tack (javelin) and Paris Mikinski (high jump) will also be competing for the Wildcats this weekend at the Tucson Elite Classic. The two are both freshmen who have seen success in their events over the course of the year.
 
Of those competing this weekend, the Wildcats have three athletes ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Geist ranks second in both the shot put and the hammer throw, Landa ranks 12th in the shot, and Koudssi ranks 20th in the shot as well. Marks at this meet will not count towards NCAA rankings though, with the NCAA West First Round being held in Sacramento, Calif., next week on May 24-27.
 
A meet recap will be posted to ArizonaWildcats.com detailing the competition results. Live updates will also be posted to @ArizonaTrack on Twitter.
 
WHO'S COMPETING
MEN
Jordan Geist, Youssef Koudssi, Zach Landa
 
WOMEN
Paris Mikinski, Mackenna Orie, Erin Tack
 
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