EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette’s men’s and women’s track & field teams will make the trip to Boston University this weekend for the annual Patriot League Indoor Championships, competing on what is notoriously one of the fastest tracks in the country.

Early events in the men’s heptathlon kick-off the meet at 12 p.m. Friday afternoon, while the first full day of competition begins with field events on Saturday morning.

“Teams come from all over to run on Boston University’s track,” head coach Michele Curcio said. “They’ve had American records set on that track, so we’re definitely excited to be there. I think hosting the Patriot League meet is going to make our entire conference better.”

Among the Leopard runners who have competed in Boston before are seniors Jarrel Bobb and Devin Smith. They, along with several of their teammates, have made the trip north for IC4A and ECAC championship meets, and they are Lafayette’s two top contenders for a variety of events this weekend.

Bobb enters the meet with the top Patriot League distance in the long jump (23’ 6 1/4") in 2015-16, and he also ranks in the top five in triple jump and the 400-meter dash while placing in the top 10 in the 200 dash. The Bushkill, Pa., native placed fourth in both jumping events last winter.

“Unfortunately for Jarrel, he’s incurred some injuries that have prevented him from really stepping up at the Patriot League championships these last couple of years,” Curcio commented. “But I think now he’s healthy. He’s been running extremely well, and he will do whatever he can to help his team.”

“It’s been a good year, and I just want to top it off the right way,” Bobb added. “I haven’t been in this kind of shape for a long time, so I want to take advantage of it and make my mark on the Patriot League.”

Smith has been a contender in the 400 dash throughout her career, finishing as the runner-up as a junior and winning the event during her freshman campaign. The Andover, N.J., native can once again be found among the top five-fastest league times this winter, and she is also among the leaders in the 200 dash.

“Devin has been a Patriot League-caliber athlete throughout her career” Curcio said. “She’s one of the hardest workers we have on the team, and I like her chances in a lot of different events.”

Smith will also be joined by teammates Drew Davis and Erin Keen in attempting to defend Lafayette’s title in the 4x400 relay. Those three, along with Haley Langton ’15, also placed in the top three in 2013-14, and they will look to remain near the top of the rankings in Boston this weekend. They were joined by junior Kelly Reager when the team posted its top time in the relay thus far this season on Feb. 6 at the Villanova Invite on Staten Island.

“The 4x4 relay is probably the race I’m most excited about,” Smith said. “We’re defending champs, so I’m hoping to keep that going.”

Davis and Keen will also hope to put up strong individual performances on the track. Davis was right behind Smith in fifth place in the 400 last winter, while Keen took fourth in the 60 dash. Other runners who have registered strong times in recent weeks include Reager, Alexa Kwapinski and Thomas Day.

The Leopards have several competitors besides Bobb who will have the opportunity to score in the field events. Austin Wiles (high jump), Dave McGriff (shot put, weight throw) and Patrick Corcoran (weight throw) all have marks in the Patriot League top 10, while Mara Blanchard and Laura Oh could sneak into the picture in the pole vault and throwing events, respectively. Sam Cutrone, who PRd in the event back in January, will be Lafayette’s participant in the heptathlon.

In the end, the Leopards will be looking to improve on a pair of seventh-place results from last year’s meet at Navy.

“Our expectations have always been to do better than we have been doing each year,” Curcio concluded. “The league has certainly stepped up its game. The Patriot League now sends athletes to the NCAA Championships. The competitiveness has grown, and I think the competitiveness on our team has grown from it. If we go out and give our 100 percent, good things will happen for the team.”