Head coach Dave Uhrich would do well to incorporate a team prayer before Thursday's track and field practice in hopes of warm weather to melt the snow.

Snow bombarded Milwaukee Wednesday morning and was predicted to last late into the night, according to weather.,”

Head coach Dave Uhrich would do well to incorporate a team prayer before Thursday's track and field practice in hopes of warm weather to melt the snow.

Snow bombarded Milwaukee Wednesday morning and was predicted to last late into the night, according to weather.com. If the forecast is accurate, Milwaukee will have been blitzed by six to 10 inches of snow by Thursday morning. Should the weather gods prove unkind after that, the track and field team likely will miss what would have been its first home meet since 2003.

For now, the squad will cross its fingers and hope to host the Marquette Invitational, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Valley Fields.

"Hopefully a fluke Milwaukee April snowfall won't cause the meet to get canceled," said senior Jeremy Williams. "Hopefully we'll get out there because it would be exciting to finally have a home meet."

The field on which Marquette's throwers compete was wiped out in 2004 due to the construction of the Marquette Interchange. Marquette now has constructed a new throw field on 7th Street and Canal Avenue, half a mile east of Valley Fields. The Marquette Invitational has been revived thanks to revamps, including renovating the track at Valley Fields.

"The track had been getting run down and we didn't feel it was appropriate to host a meet," said Uhrich. "Tracks have a 10-year lifespan, so we took care of it, and we're really excited about it."

Hosting an outdoor meet in Wisconsin is a tricky task because of unpredictable weather. Elite programs try to get as far south of the Midwest as possible, Uhrich said. For the athletic department to attempt to convince a program like UCLA or Arizona State to travel to Wisconsin in April is not realistic.

Instead, Marquette will host less competitive competition: Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago and three Division III programs. The DIII schools each have several athletes capable of competing with DI caliber talent, though, Uhrich said. The Marquette Invitational is small compared to most other meets at which the Golden Eagles compete.

"For a meet this size, Valley Fields is great," said junior Cassie Peller. "If we were anticipating a big group then Valley wouldn't be big enough."

Regardless of size, the Golden Eagles still expect a quality turnout should the meet take place. Alumni and athletes' friends would get a rare chance to lend support.

"I really hope the weather holds out because it's so exciting to finally have a meet here," said senior Kristin Stoniecki, the squad's top pole vaulter. "Even though it's small, it's still exciting to compete in front of your friends and everybody."

Team members agreed the meet would be a huge positive for the program.

"Being at home definitely adds to the excitement," Peller said. "A lot of times you might complain about a meet or you might be really happy about how a meet went, but no one outside the team can really see it. You don't get that sense of competition."

The decathlon athletes are scheduled to compete Friday while the runners are set for Saturday at Valley Fields.

2-minute guide to Saturday's meet (so you don't look like someone who's never been to a track meet before)

What's a steeplechase?SM A 3,000-meter race containing five equidistant barriers which runners must clear. Behind the barriers are pools of water 12-feet long by 2.5-feet deep. "The barriers are kind of equivalent to hurdles," said senior Jeremy Williams. "Except when you hit a hurdle, the hurdle falls. When you hit a barrier, you fall."

What's a triple jump? Athlete sprints down runway, jumps from marker and must land on takeoff foot. Athlete steps once and (before second marker) jumps off opposite foot into sandbox. Longest mark wins.

Most exciting event: 1,500-meter run. This is as close as it gets to the mile for outdoor season.

Least exciting event: Long jump. The difference between a good jump and an average one is invisible to the untrained eye.

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