By Dan Canastra

With the best track athletes east of the Mississippi competing, the Huskies will have their work cut out for them entering the NCAA East Regional this weekend.

The men are coming off a weekend of rest and relaxation, which head coach Sherman Hart said was well deserved.

“Hopefully it will be positive; a week of rest is a necessity for us,” he said. “It’s been a long year and I know they needed the rest. We’ve been on the road for the last five or six weeks.”

The competition starts this Friday morning in Fairfax, Va. Senior co-captain Vinny Tortorella will be the first one to compete for the Huskies early Friday morning. Hart noted that it is very important for Tortorella to start the meet off on the right foot, which could carry a great deal of momentum toward the team. Even with Tortorella dominating the hammer throw all year long, Hart feels that he has to enter the event as if he’s the underdog.

“At a regional championship with a chance to go to the nationals you have to look at it that everyone is going go after it, everybody is going bring their A game to the meet,” said Hart.

Tortorella is seeded fourth in the hammer entering the meet.

“[In order succeed this weekend] I’m going to keep on staying focused and try to keep my confidence level up like it has the past few weeks,” Tortorella said.

“I’ve felt real good in practice the last few weeks, and I just have to keep things under control and keep working hard.”

Along with Tortorella, the other team’s top thrower, Derek Anderson, will be competing this weekend. The sophomore will be launching the discus and heaving the shot put.

“Personally I just want to do my personal best in both events, top five. If that happens it should take care of its self and its just icing on the cake,” said Anderson.

In order to qualify for the NCAA Championship, which takes place in the middle of June, one has to finish in the top five in the event they compete in.

The hamstring of sophomore sprinter Idris Payne, which he tweaked at the America East Championship a few weeks back, will be strong and healthy heading into this weekend, according to Hart. Payne will be competing in the 400-meter race. Adam Crossman, a junior, will be throwing the javelin this weekend, while teammate Ryan Cahill will attempt to soar to the top while competing in the pole vault.

The pressure-packed weekend starts this Friday. With a birth to the NCAA Championship on the line, look for the Huskies to leave everything they’ve got on the track and take a bite out of the competition.