They’re going to the Dome. The University of Northern Iowa Dome, that is.

Since they did not compete against UNI during the regular season, both the SIUC men and women’s track and field teams will compete in the 1996 Missouri Valley Conference Championships held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend.

The SIUC women’s track and field team finished second in last year’s contest and last won the annual Championship in 1989.

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On the women’s side, the Salukis are picked to finish in a tie for second place with Indiana State, while Illinois State is the projected overall winner.

Women’s track and field coach Don DeNoon said he did not think the coaches who voted, took in account the team’s depth.

DeNoon added that Indiana State has a couple of women picked to finish first in consecutive events. He said it would be hard to win back to back events in the finals.

With ISU being the projected winner, DeNoon said his team will enter competition as underdogs, but their depth will pay off during the meet.

I think the depth really pays off for us when we look at putting our athletes together for the distance medley relay, DeNoon said. We don’t have a great chance to finish first, second, or third in the distance medley relay, but we can finish fourth and we can place fifth.

DeNoon explained that by placing fourth or fifth in the distance medley relay, his team would still be able to come back and perform well in the individual events where as other teams might not.

DeNoon believes through his coaching strategy and top performances, his team will be able to tally the necessary points to win the meet.

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I think 120 points will win the meet, and if someone else can score more than that, then they deserve to win, DeNoon said. If all goes as planned, we will have nearly half of our point production in only five events.

We have the potential to score in all but three events, and Friday’s trials will tell a lot. If we qualify for the finals Saturday, we are guaranteed points for finishing, he said.

DeNoon said the MVC Championship is the main focus of his team because making it to the National Championships would be difficult.

We’re a team that is designed around conference championships, DeNoon said. That’s our ultimate goal here.

We’re not looking at a lot of kids that come right out of high school that can step right onto the track the first year, and make it to the NCAA’s and their second year make All-American. We just can’t recruit like that.

With the SIUC men’s track and field team ranked sixth in the Pre-Championship Poll, men’s coach Bill Cornell told his athletes exactly where they stood and what they could do about it.

I’m putting the emphasis on the team, Cornell said. It’s their responsibility. They’re the ones who need to come through, they’re the ones who haven’t been doing their job.

In our squad meet yesterday, I told them we could very easily finish anywhere from second to seventh. It’s completely up to them and how much pride they have.

Cornell said the top ranked team of Northern Iowa will probably handily win the meet.

They’ve got a long lead, Cornell said. I’d say 50 or 60 points. I’d like to see us in the upper bracket, but sixth is very possible. If we make the top four, I will be very happy.

If each man can take care of himself and do what he has to do, we will finish in the upper bracket, he said.

The men’s team finished fourth at last year’s meet and grabbed their last MVC indoor title in 1992.

Cornell gave a possible explanation as to his team’s recent absence from the top tier.

The meet has gotten tougher over the years and there are now several national qualifying people competing, Cornell said. You can’t be at the top all of the time. You’re going to have those rebuilding years.

Both the men and women’s track and field teams will travel to the USA Track and Field Championships in Atlanta, Ga., from March 1-2.