3rd
COLLEGE STATION -- After two days of competition, the men’s track team finished in third place and junior Miles Batty won an individual national championship in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas.
"This was the best we've ever done with one of our best indoor teams ever," head coach Mark Robison said. "It has been a pretty special weekend and I am so pleased."
Batty finished in a time of 3:59.49. After falling back to the fourth position with four laps to go Batty turned it on to make it back into second place heading into the final lap. Around the last turn into the home straightaway the Sandy native beat out Tulsa sophomore Chris O’Hare in a dead sprint to take the victory.
"Batty was just unbelievable," Robison said. "We were very fortunate and this has been a memorable weekend and an incredibly fortunate last few days."
Last night, Batty ran the mile for the distance medley relay team and helped secure a first place finish just hours after he ran his qualifying race in the mile as well. With the win, Batty picks up first team All-American honors, his second recognition in as many days.
The Cougars finished with 34 points, falling short of Texas A&M and Florida. The third place finish is the highest ever for BYU at the Indoor Championships.
Competing in his second event of the meet, senior Leif Arrhenius finished in ninth place in the weight throw. After winning the shot put yesterday, Arrhenius went for a mark of 20.45m (67-01.25).
With the indoor season all wrapped up, BYU will prepare for outdoor season which begins next weekend with the San Diego State Invitational.
To see complete results from the meet CLICK HERE.
PROVO -- Seven members of the No. 5 men’s track team will be representing the Cougars at the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship meet in College Station, Texas on Friday and Saturday.
"It is going to be fun, there is some phenomenal competition there and everyone is healthy," coach Mark Robison said. "We are excited with the prospects we have with a little luck we'll do very well."
Junior Miles Batty, the Mountain West Conference champion and current school record holder in the mile will be a legitimate contender to for a national championship. Batty broke a 31-year-old BYU record with a 3:55.79 mile time at the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA earlier this year.
In the 4,000-meter distance medley relay, the Cougars will feature senior Brian Weirich and juniors Chris Carter, Justin Hedin and Batty trying to best their NCAA third-ranked time of 9:29.13. The time broke the facility record in Albuquerque, N.M. at the MWC Championships.
BYU will send two pole vault athletes to nationals. Sophomore Victor Weirich has the second best mark in the country this year, clearing a height of 5.50m (18-00.50). Not far behind, senior Chris Little cleared 5.42m (17-09.25) to earn an invite as well.
Senior Leif Arrhenius will be a multi-event competitor for the Cougars. The All-American will compete in both the shot put and the weight throw after winning both events at the MWC Championships. This is the second-straight year he has competed in the weight throw at Nationals.
"I think all of our guys are capable of scoring," Robison said. "If they can all score some points that could be huge."
The NCAA Indoor Championships will begin on Friday at 9 a.m. MT and conclude Saturday night with an awards ceremony at approximately 6:50 p.m. MT.
ESPN2 will show a tape delay of the event on March 16 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. ESPN3 will webstream the event on Friday, March 11 from 4-8:40 p.m. and Saturday, March 12 from 4-7:50 p.m. The remainder of the event will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
To follow live results CLICK HERE.
Athlete Event Start Time*
Miles Batty Mile 3:15 p.m. Friday (Prelims)
4:10 p.m. Saturday (Finals)
DMR 7:40 p.m. Friday
Victor Weirich Pole vault 3:30 p.m. Friday
Chris Little Pole vault 3:30 p.m. Friday
Brian Weirich DMR 7:40 p.m. Friday
Chris Carter DMR 7:40 p.m. Friday
Justin Hedin DMR 7:40 p.m. Friday
Leif Arrhenius Shot put 5:50 p.m. Friday (Trials and Finals)
Weight throw 4:00 p.m. Saturday (Trials and Finals)
*Mountain time