By Michael Jacklin
The 2003 BYU men”s track & field team looks to defend its Mountain West Conference outdoor championship and improve on its second place finish in the Mountain West Conference indoor championship last year.
The Cougars are led by third-year coach Mark Robison, and welcome a host of newcomers to this year”s team. Overall there are 24 new athletes joining the Cougars this year.
A few new twists have been added to the schedule this year; the Cougars will host two indoor track & field meets at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah. These two meets are the first indoor track & field meets hosted by the Cougars since the late ”80s.
Also new to the schedule this year, the Mountain West Conference outdoor meet has been moved to a week earlier than normal in order to accommodate a regional meet where the top five athletes in each event will qualify for nationals.
“I am excited about the regional format,” Robison said. “It will be head-to-head competition, and we will have more people go to nationals.”
The new regional meets will allow a 40 percent increase in athletes qualifying for nationals.
“We have had some of the poorest representation at a national meet of any sport,” Robison said. “This [a regional meet] is a great thing for us.”
This year, the Cougars look to field one of their strongest teams in recent history, led by the athletes in the pole vault, 800 meters and the decathlon. The sprinters and the distance runners on this year”s team have also shown great improvement.
Four of the returning pole vaulters have cleared the 17 foot mark and look to be the strength of this years team. Also joining the team will be freshman Robbie Pratt who competed in the 2000 Olympics for Mexico. Pratt recently returned from his mission and may not be ready to participate during the indoor season.
“This is potentially the best group of pole vaulters we have ever had,” Larry Berryhill, pole vaulters coach said. “There is a possibility of five athletes making nationals.”
The 800-meter race has always been one of the strong points of the Cougar track & field team. This year junior Jeffrey Hopkinson, junior Chad Simkins, and junior Scott Adams will lead the runners.
The distance runners also look to be a strength to this years team with sophomore Kip Kangogo and junior Nathan Robison leading the way.
Sophomore Curtis Pugsley, who finished fifth in the decathlon as a freshman, returns to the team after suffering many injuries last year.
Aaron Szmuda, long jumper and triple jumper, is the only athlete returning who competed in nationals last year.
“He (Szmuda) is very, very good,” Robison said. “I am hoping he will place both in the long and the triple jump.”
Overall, the men”s track & field team looks to be the most balanced team under Coach Robison.
