The UTEP track team is preparing for the Lobo Collegiate Open to take place in Albuquerque, N.M. on Jan. 24. This will be the first meet of the spring season.

The Miners are looking to get off on the right foot in hopes of reproducing the kind of success they enjoyed last season.

Although the track meet will not count towards conference standings, head coach Mika Laaksonen is making sure the team knows the importance of getting off to a good start

“What we want to do is kind of get the ball rolling and keep everybody healthy,” Laaksonen said. “We have a bunch of new people, like we do every year, so we are going to see how the new people perform.”

The Lobo Collegiate Open can be helpful for athletes, who are unsure what event they are best at. With a team of more than 60 athletes, it is important to find who is good at what, and help each athlete become successful.

“We have one of the biggest teams we have ever had, or at least in the last 20 to 25 years,” Laaksonen said. “The main thing is to put them in events where they can be successful and then get the season going with the right foot and avoiding injuries.”

For many of the seniors, this will be one of their last opportunities to prove that they have what it takes to compete in later track meets and in the conference championships.

“We have the first couple meets where everyone will get an opportunity, then we will go lean and mean for the rest of the season,” Laaksonen said. “We are going to give everyone the opportunity to compete.”

The expectation for seniors  is that they perform well.

“We have a few seniors who have not performed their best yet,” Laaksonen said. “I expect those guys and girls to step up for us this year and finish strong for us.”

Among the seniors expected to lead the Miners is standout Anthony Rotich who will be looking to add to his already decorated college career.

The three-time national champion has been added to the Bowerman Watch List for the ninth time.

The list names the top 10 track and field and cross-country athletes in the nation, and is the highest individual honor an athlete can receive.

After his triumph last season, Rotich believes he has the formula for success in the upcoming season.

“What I do in 2015 is not much different from what I did last year,” Rotich said. “I want to maintain the achievement that I had last year, and so long as my health is good, I know I’m going to make it.”

Every day is important for the reigning national champion, who also has future Olympic aspirations.

“My coach always said the success of tomorrow is what you do right now,” Rotich said. “About the Olympics, it’s not that I will be waiting three years to start training. I’ve started already training the day I got to UTEP.”

The Lobo Invitational will be the first step toward another successful season for what is considered one of UTEP’s strongest teams.

Juan Carlos Navarrete may be reached at [email protected].