Senior sprinter Arlene Gowar led the BYU women’s track team with her win in the 200m at the Air Force Collegiate Open in Colorado Springs Saturday.
Gowar finished first with a new personal best time of 24.61. Gowar also finished second in the 60m, narrowly getting edged out of first place by 0.01 to finish in 7.54, another career best.
“There were a lot of improvements and good marks today,” hurdles and jumps coach Mark Robison said. “So we are just looking ahead to the MPSF meet and what’s ahead. There were a lot of really good performances today.”
The men’s and women’s teams split up for the weekend, sending many of the runners to the Husky Classic at University of Washington in Seattle to race against top competitors in a traditionally strong long-distance venue. Most of the field and power event athletes, male and female, traveled to the Air Force Collegiate Open in Colorado Springs, Colo.
BYU athletes had strong performances across the board at the Air Force meet. Freshman Nicole Laws garnered second place with her 8.63-second performance in the 60m hurdles. Laws also took fifth place in the high jump.
In other jumping events, Senior Elizabeth Wilson finished third in the long jump with a leap of 5.58m (18’3.75”). Chloe Richardson took third in the triple jump with a mark of 11.89m (39’0.25”), and Rachel Fisher earned third place in the pole vault, clearing 3.85m (12’7.5”).
Also at the Air Force Open, junior Bejon Bryant led BYU in the running events with his third-place finish in the 60m hurdles with an 8.27.
However, the men’s team had a stronger showing in the field events. Sophomore Sam Rockwood and freshman Zachary Blackham took second and third places, respectively, in the high jump, both clearing a height of 2.11m (6’11”). In the long jump, freshman Alex Ashworth leapt 7.12m (23’4.5”) which was good enough for third place. Junior Braydon Bringhurst earned third place in the pole vault with a height of 5.45m (17’10.5”).
Meanwhile in Seattle, the women’s team put on a strong performance in the 800m. Freshman Shea Martinez had a strong performance against top runners, placing third with a time of 2:08.68, which brings her very close to qualifying for nationals. Teammate Allyssa Hansen was close behind, taking fifth place with 2:09.41.
Junior Tyrell Yardley dominated in the 400m, taking first in the event with a quick 48.40. The men’s 4x400m relay team consisting of Yardley, Sean Adams, Mario Harper, and Korey Smith was 0.07 seconds away from winning the event, finishing in 3:13.18, good enough for second place.
In the 5000m, senior Jared Ward continued his streak of impressive performances with a second place finish, crossing the finish line in 13:42.17.
Full results from the Washington meet can be found at gohuskies.com and at tfrrs.org for the Air Force meet. Up next for both the men’s and women’s teams are the Simplot Games February 21-22 in Pocatello, Idaho.
