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Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex
1600 N. Canyon Road Provo UT 84604
Successful Robison Invitational concludes on a rainy Saturday
PROVO, Utah – A successful 2014 Robison Invitational concluded on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex.
"It was an amazing meet,” BYU coach Ed Eyestone said. “This was the best meet of the year for us. We had regional marks improve and some athletes hit regional marks for the first time.”
Despite the rain, several Cougars turned in quality marks on the track and in the field on Saturday.
“It was good to get some experience running in the rain,” Eyestone said. “Nationals is held in Eugene, Ore., which is often a rainy place. As of today we have more than 40 regional qualifiers, almost to our overall team goal of 50.”
Two Cougars qualified for the regionals in the women’s 400 meter hurdles as sophomores Kaylee Packham and Allysa Hansen took second and third. Packham came in with a time of 59.72 while Hansen was close behind at 58.83.
The Cougars had two of the top five times in the women’s 200 meter race as seniors Arlene Gowar (24.38) and Kassie Jensen (24.51) took third and fifth, respectively.
Freshman Cherilyn Bunker won her event, taking the javelin by a narrow margin. Her throw measured 38.92 meters (127 feet, 8.25 inches) while Megan Loveland from Weber State was right behind with a mark of 38.49 meters (126 feet, 3.25 inches).
Junior Joseph Stull won the men’s hammer throw with a toss that measured 53.78 meters (176 feet, 5.25 inches). Freshman Craig Merkley was a close second behind Stull with a throw of 52.74 meters (173 feet, 0.5 inches).
The men’s 4x100 meter relay team took second with a time of 41.91. This weekend marked the track debut of Jamaal Williams, the starting running back from the football team. On Friday he ran the 100 meters in 11.1 seconds and on Saturday he ran the second leg of the 4x100 relay team that also included Kyle Turner, Tyler Sorensen and Fan Fan Charles.
The Cougars will remain at home next week to compete in the BYU Cougar Invitational on Thursday, May 1, at the Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex. The meet will begin at noon MT with the men’s hammer throw and women’s shot put. The final event, the men’s 4x400 relay, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
PROVO, Utah—BYU men’s track will host the Clarence F. Robison Invitational this weekend, its only collegiate outdoor home meet of the season.
“We are really looking forward to this meet as we get to perform in front of our home fans,” head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We typically get a lot of regional qualifiers when the weather is good, so hopefully we have a productive meet.”
The Cougars will use this meet in attempt to qualify more distance runners for the upcoming regional meet, with emphasis being placed on the mile. Travis Fuller, Jonathan Brown and Evan Argyle are all looking to record qualifying times in the event. The mile will be run at 1:45 p.m. MST on Saturday.
Chase Dalton and Joshua Weirich, both holding top-15 marks in the country, will compete in the decathlon with hopes to improve their season bests.
BYU running back Jamaal Williams will make his season debut for BYU track as a sprinter. He will run in the 4x100 relays, which begins at 1:10 p.m. MST on Saturday.
BYU track will recognize its seniors in a ceremony at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, immediately before the running events begin at 1 p.m.
The meet will take place at the Clarence F. Robison track & field complext with events beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. A full meet schedule can be found at BYUCougars.com and live results can be found on the schedule page.