Home is not always on the schedule for college athletes.

But for one Bruin, this weekend’s meet will offer exactly that.

UCLA track and field will divide its roster across two competitions, sending nine distance runners to compete at the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California while sprinters and field athletes will head to compete in the Battle on the Bayou meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Bruins will send multiple sprinters and field athletes to the latter invitational, highlighted by a return home for junior sprinter Gabriel Clement II. The Kaplan, Louisiana, local – who grew up roughly 90 minutes from Baton Rouge – is slated to compete in the 400-meter dash and the 4×400-meter relay, marking his first opportunity of his collegiate career to race in front of a home-state crowd.

“(Competing in Louisiana) means everything to me,” Clement said. “I’m going to go out there and do something crazy. I have to trust in myself and trust in my training. I can’t even put into words how excited I am.”

Clement enters the meet as one of UCLA’s top quarter-milers. The junior earned First Team All-American honors in the 400-meter dash at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor championships after finishing eighth in the national final.

He also set the program’s indoor 400-meter school record in 2025 with a 45.90 mark. The junior has been a consistent contributor in UCLA’s 4×400-meter relay, and has shown range across sprinting events, posting a strong 200-meter performance at the Jim Bush Legends meet Saturday with a 20.50-second mark.

Other notable contributors include graduate student pole vaulter Paige Sommers and sophomore jumper Valentina Fakrogha, who – along with Clement – captured event titles Saturday.

Fakrogha has established herself as one of UCLA’s top high jumpers.

The 2025 First Team Outdoor All-American recorded a personal best 1.87-meter jump Saturday, a mark that ranks third on UCLA’s all-time outdoor performance list.

Meanwhile, 10 other Bruins will head north to compete in the Stanford Invite, a meet traditionally known for its distance-heavy fields.

UCLA’s group will feature runners across middle- and long-distance athletes, including redshirt freshman Jack Falkowski in the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter runs and true freshman Kaitlyn Arciaga in the women’s 800-meter.

“I know what I’m capable of,” Arciaga said. “There’s going to be good competition at Stanford, and it’ll be a good opportunity to get a PR or even figure out how I need to race.”

Freshman Arrin Sagiraju and redshirt sophomore Kai Mitchell-Reiss are slated to compete in the 1500-meter race as well, while senior Kaho Cichon will represent the Bruins in the women’s 1500-meter event. Freshman Evie Marheineke and sophomore Quinci Lott will also race in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase.

Sophomore Olivia Foody and senior Annika Salz round out UCLA’s distance lineup traveling to Palo Alto, with each set to compete in the women’s 10,000-meter run.

“You really have to stay locked in,” said track and field director Joanna Hayes. “I want everybody to go out compete and then talk to the coach and see what’s next. Go out, be the best you can be on that day and then learn from the good and the bad and get ready for practice until we can go again the next week.”