After getting off to a fast start this outdoor season, the Marquette track and field team suffered a hiccup this weekend with a lacking performance at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C.

Enveloped in a talented field of over 50 colleges and universities, Marquette displayed some promise and effort, but failed to crack the top three finishers in any event.

"I thought we competed hard and got after it, but it just didn't come," coach Bert Rogers said. "I don't read too much into it. I think we're still on the right path."

Rogers said that occasionally the team can get lost in previous success and training.

"Sometimes you have those periods during your season where you hit the ground running — then we're working on training and we funnel (our efforts) into the latter half of the season," he said. "So the way our workouts have been going, it's not entirely surprising we didn't run and jump quite as well this weekend. But we still had some very good performances."

Highlighting the weekend for the Golden Eagles were several Big East qualifying marks and personal records. Sophomore Tyler O'Brien grabbed a couple of qualifiers including a fifth-place finish in the 200-meters. His time of 10.91 in the 100-meters remains a half-second behind the school record, but O'Brien said he knows where he needs to improve.

"It's all about my start," O'Brien said. "My start is really holding me back in the 100-meters. If I can get it together, I can get closer. That 100 record would be pretty awesome."

O'Brien also ran the 4×400 relay with teammates Tom Cassady, Randey Fisher and Michael O'Brien. Their 3:19.09 time was good enough for fourth place, but in many ways was symbolic of the mediocre day for Marquette.

"A lot of people (on the team) were kind of disappointed with how we did," Michael O'Brien said. "They weren't bad performances, but it's not what we were expecting or hoping to get."

After the success of Jayne Grebinski in the steeplechase last weekend, several more Marquette women met Big East qualifying marks in the event. Leading the way for the team was Kate Horan, whose strategical changes produced a ninth-place finish.

"I just went out a little faster than normal with some of my teammates and just tried to hold on," Horan said. "And so when I hit (the Big East mark), I was just really excited and happy."

Hampered by leg injuries that have limited her training over the week, high jumper Erynn James still managed to take fourth with a jump of 1.65 meters.

"It's not about placing," James said. "I was disappointed with how I did. I wish I could've done better."

The team hopes to pick itself out of the doldrums with its home meet this Friday at Valley Fields. The dual meet will pit Marquette against cross-town rival Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"This weekend is going to be more about competing than chasing marks," Rogers said. "It's about tasting that competition and beating the person next to you."