This weekend the Maroons will travel north to compete in their first away meet of the year at the Private School Championships in Kenosha, WI.

Chicago had a strong showing in its first meet of the year this past weekend as both the men’s and women’s squads took the top spots respectively at the Phoenix Invitational at Henry Crown Field House.

“My approach has really never changed throughout my career when it comes to competitions; I always go in with the mindset of; ‘I want to jump as high as possible and try to get a new personal record’,” said third-year pole-vaulter Michael Bennett, who was forced to sit out a round this time last season due to injury.

“After what happened last week in competition I’m going to be putting most of my focus into getting my timing down.”

Bennett finished first in the pole vault at the Phoenix Invitational last week and is currently the reigning indoor DIII champion.

Second-year Timofey Karginov finished first in the men’s mile run Saturday, one of five UChicago men to take first in an individual event.

“A lot of our strong distance runners are currently running shorter events to get valuable speed work in and build up to their respective distances in the 3K and 5K over the course of the season,” Karginov said.

Karginov also pointed out that the middle-distance runners use these early meets to prepare for the 800-meter and mile events later on in the year as well.

“Our goal is to be fully prepared for the conference championship,” said fourth-year jumper Pam Yu. Yu placed first in both the long and triple jumps last weekend.

“This means getting stronger, physically and mentally, and preventing any injuries from occurring by training smarter,” Yu said.

In addition to Yu, third-year Nelly Trotter was one of four Chicago women who brought home an individual win last weekend, as she won the high jump with a winning height of 1.59 meters.

“I think this early in the season everyone is just getting used to competing again; later in the season it will become more difficult as marks and times improve overall,” Trotter said.

“Competing at this point in the season is good because it allows you to understand where you stand and how your peers stand as well early on,” Yu said. “This is advantageous in that I know how much it will take for me to get to where I want by the end of the season.”

The entire team is consistent in stressing the importance of building strength and endurance early on in the season, so as to be as ready as possible come the championships later in the season.

“Currently, our mentality is about building, strengthening, and getting in the best form to prepare for our championship meets,” Karginov said. “This weekend we hope to have another strong outing like our last meet.”

Chicago competes tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Kenosha, aiming for the distinction of best private school among its competitors in the Private School Championships.