TUSCON, Ariz. – Several first-place finishes and personal bests highlighted the BYU track and field team’s first weekend of outdoor competition as the athletes completed the final day of events at the Willie Williams Classic and UNLV Invite on Saturday.

WILLIE WILLIAMS CLASSIC

Four Cougars started off Saturday’s competition in the discus throw, with Sable Lohmeier placing third (44.84m/147-1) and Leah Thompson taking fourth (44.82m/147-0). Teammates Dailyn Tufuga finished seventh (42.97m/140-11) and Addisyn Peacock took ninth (42.37m/139-0).

Haley Rogers, Ellie Quackenbush, Lauren Rawlinson and Jaslyn Gardner earned a first-place finish in the 4X100m relay with a time of 45.49. The men’s 4X100m, featuring Andrew Stuart, Michael Bluth, Easton Bianchi and Derek Sorensen, clocked a 40.31 to finish first as well.

Jesus Serrano and Kyle Strauss claimed the 1-2 spots in the men’s 110m hurdles. Serrano clocked 14.61 with Strauss close behind at 14.65. Kaitlyn Gunnerson-Burrup finished fifth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.75.

Blake Ellis and Remarco Thompson ran season openers in the 400m and placed third and fourth with times of 48.27 and 48.51, respectively.

Six Cougars competed in the women’s 800m, with Lauren Ellsworth (2:06.56), Kate Hunter (2:08.56) and Karina Haymore (2:09.21) finishing 1-3. Alena Ellsworth took fifth with a time of 2:12.48. Alissa Fielding followed directly behind her with 2:12.79 to place sixth. Emma Gee rounded out the Cougars with a time of 2:21.12 to finish 12th.

Senior Marcus Dickson ran a 1:50.91 to win the men’s 800m. Talem Franco took second (1:51.08) and Patrick Parker followed in fourth (1:52.13). Connor Ross finished ninth with a time of 1:54.73.

In her first collegiate outdoor meet, Jaslyn Gardner clocked 11.82 to claim second in the women’s 100m. Sorensen won the men’s 100m with a time of 10:53. Andrew Stuart finished ninth with a career-best 10.80 and freshman Easton Bianchi took 11th (10.90).

Quackenbush, Rawlinson, Cassidy Pinnock and Brinn Jensen claimed a second-place finish (3:42.22) in the women’s 1600m relay. Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Haymore and Hunter followed in third after clocking 3:46.98.

In the men’s shot put, two Cougars took spots in the top five. Jefferson Jarvis finished second with a mark of 17.72m/58-1.75 and freshman Austin Carter threw a mark of 16.36m/53-8.75 for a fifth-place finish.

For his first competition in BYU uniform, Jacob Peister jumped 14.83m/48-8.25 to claim second place in the men’s triple jump.

UNLV INVITE

True freshman Harrison Gould took second place in the men’s discus with a 49.99m/164-0 throw. Dennis Christensen placed fifth with a mark of 45.25m/148-5.

Elise Romney had a strong start to the outdoor season with a mark of 4.10m/13-5.25 in the pole vault to claim first and tie for the No. 9 BYU all-time mark. Isabel Neal followed in second with a mark of 3.65m/11-11.75 and Kyndal Stewart-Pothier took third. Charlotte Read placed fifth (3.50m/11-5.75) in the pole vault.

Jameson Shirley and Steven French opened up their outdoor season by finishing 2-3 in the men’s pole vault with marks of 4.95m/16-2.75 and 4.65m/15-3, respectively.

Dylan Kay’s first collegiate performance in the high jump earned him a first-place finish (2.05m/6-8.75). Jared Lorimier (2.00m/6-6.75) and AJ Benyon (2.00m/6-6.75) followed in second and third place.

The Cougars are set to compete next in the Aztec Invitational in San Diego starting on Friday, March 22. Live stats and meet information can be found on the BYU track and field schedule page two days before the meet.

Day One Recap

Willie Williams Classic Results

UNLV Invite Results

PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field will open the 2019 outdoor season competing at the Willie Williams Invite and the UNLV Invite March 15-16.

“We’re going to be well-represented this weekend down in Tucson and Las Vegas,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “Most of the team will be transitioning from indoor to outdoor, but I know that we have a group of javelin throwers that are ready to finally start competing.”

Most of the men’s and women’s teams will be competing March 15-16 at the Willie Williams Invite at Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. A small group of athletes will compete those same days at the UNLV Invite at Myron Partridge Track Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Eyestone hopes the momentum from the indoor season carries over to the outdoor season after the BYU track and field program had its best finish to the indoor season since 2012 with both the men’s and women’s team finishing in the top 15 at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Cougars will also look to build off of the success from the 2018 outdoor season where both the men’s and women’s teams combined for the most entries earned to the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Round. The two teams combined for 58 total entries to the regional meet with the men’s team securing 34 entries and the women’s team earning 24 entries.

The BYU men’s program returns 24 athletes that competed in the 2018 regional meet this season. Six of those 24 athletes advanced to the NCAA Championships. The returnees are headlined by 2018 Outdoor All-Americans Rory Linkletter, Connor McMillan, Matt Owens, Clayson Shumway and Clayton Young.

The BYU women’s program returns 17 athletes that competed in the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Round. Seven of the 17 returning regional qualifiers advanced to Nationals. The team returns 2018 Outdoor All-Americans Ashton Riner and Andrea Stapleton-Johnson.

Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter for team updates from the Willie Williams Invite and the UNLV Invite. Live stats will be available on the BYU track and field schedule page by the first day of competition.