SOUTH BEND, Indiana – The BYU women's track and field distance medley relay team raced a national qualifying time of 10:56.93 and placed second at the Alex Wilson Invitational Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.

“The teams had a solid day and competed well. The women had a very good race and so did the men,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “With the time the women had they will be set to move onto the indoor national championships. The men’s time is just 200ths of a second short and right outside the qualifying time.”

The women’s team kicked off with Ashleigh Warner running the first 1200m of the race finishing at 3:22.00 before passing onto Brenna Porter who ran a 53.5 in the 400m.

Shea Collinsworth was handed the baton next to run the 800m run. With a few meters left, Collinsworth pushed for first to finish with a time of 2:02.00. Erica Jarvis finished off the race for the Cougars in the mile with a time of 4:39.00 securing a second place finish for the team and a spot at nationals.

The women’s team came just four-tenths of a second short of the BYU school record of 10:56.53.

On the men’s side, Abraham Alvarado started off the race in the 1200m with a solid time of 2:54.00. Alvarado passed off to Max Schieble for the 400m leg of the race. Schieble raced a time of 46.46 after pulling ahead to first place for the Cougars in the last meters of his leg of the race.

Connor Ross started the third leg of the race in the 800m and finished with a time of 1:49.06. Ross passed the baton to Clayton Young for the final leg of the race—the mile.

Young stayed near the front of the pack for the majority of the race and brought it home for the Cougars with a time of 4:00.20.

The men’s finishing time of 9:31.68 placed them seventh overall after finishing fifth in their heat. The team now ranks 13th nationally, just one spot behind the last qualifying time for the indoor championships. The team plans on competing this upcoming weekend for a second attempt at a qualifying time.

For a full list of results, click here.

Up next for the Cougars is the MPSF Championships which will be held in Seattle Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25. 

PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field will send only six athletes to compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana, on Saturday, Feb. 17. This will be the final meet of the indoor track regular season before the start of conference championships.

“It is like a seek and destroy mission,” said head coach Ed Eyestone. “They’re going to go and do what they need to do in order to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Then they’ll come back and get ready for the MPSF Championships.”

Abraham Alvarado will make the trip to compete in the 800m in an attempt to solidify his NCAA qualification. Athletes need to finish with one of the top-16 marks in the nation to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and Alvarado currently holds the seventh-best time in 800m (1:47.98).

Eyestone believes that Alvarado is already in a good position to qualify for the NCAA Championships but still expects him finish with a faster time to strengthen his position.

The women’s DMR team currently holds the 13th-best time nationwide and will try to boost its qualifying position. Ashleigh Warner will start the relay off in the 1200m leg and will hand off the baton to Brenna Porter for the 400m leg. Kristi Rush-Briggs will receive the baton for the 800m leg and Whittni Orton will run anchor in the 1600m.

Eyestone expects the DMR team, barring any unexpected mistakes, to finish with a faster time than its current 11:18.93.

Cassidy Pinnock will be the sixth Cougar to compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational. Pinnock will compete in the 400m and will try to beat her career-best 56.07.

BYU will also send pole vaulters Sierra Hansen, Kylee Trageser and Elise Machen-Romney to compete in the Air Force Collegiate Open in Colorado Springs on Friday, Feb. 16.

The Alex Wilson Invitational will begin at 11 a.m. EST at the Loftus Sports Center. Follow BYU track and field on twitter @BYUTFXC to keep up on the action, or click here for more live stats.