SAN DIEGO – Senior Natalie Stewart finished second in the 400-meter run during the final day of the Aztec Invitational Saturday with a time of 53.85 seconds, a time only .46 off her personal best.

Due to an ACL injury in 2011, Stewart has not run this fast of a time since the 2010 Robison Outdoor Invitational where she finished with a time of 53.91.

“This was a outstanding meet for an opener,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “Natalie (Stewart) turned a corner this week in practice, and it showed in her race today. If she keeps it up, she’ll run under 53.00 this year.”

Nicole Rudd Bringhurst finished 18^th in the same race with a time of 56.87.

The other standout performer was Sarah Yingling in the 800-meter run. For the second time during the meet, Yingling finished first in her heat and first overall with a time of 2:09.45. She also finished with a new personal-best time. The other race Yingling won was the 1,500-meter run, which took place on Friday.

Jessica Hilton, who finished third overall in the 1,500-meter run on Friday, placed third in her heat in the 800 and sixth overall with a time of 2:12.02.

In the 400-meter hurdles, freshmen Allysa Hansen and Kaylee Packham went one and two in their heat, fifth and sixth overall. They finished with times of 1:01.44 and 1:01.87, respectively.  

In the discus, freshman Madison Pachner finished seventh overall with a throw of 44.50m. Brittany Critchfield and Deezbaa Whaley finished 12^th and 14^th with throws of 42.67m and 41.96m, respectively.

“This is a great way to start the year,” Shane said. “The event coaches are very happy. We all feel we are poised for a great year.”

Final results for the invitational can be found here.

Next weekend, the Cougars return to California for the Trojan Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Day 1 recap

PROVO, Utah – The women’s track and field team heads to San Diego this weekend for the SDSU Aztec Invitational to kick off the 2013 outdoor season.

“We have several athletes who are really excited for the outdoor season, because they haven’t opened up yet with their primary events,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “They have trained all year and are ready to compete. Outdoor is a long season, and we are focusing on finding the right pace in order to be at our best toward the end of the season.”

Official events athletes have yet to compete in include the discus, hammer throw, javelin, 400-meter hurdles, 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meters.

The only returning All-American from last year’s outdoor season is senior javelin thrower Allyson Anderson Wardell, who threw for 44.28 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She is also a two-time All-Mountain West Conference selection in 2010 and 2011.

Deezbaa Whaley, a recent returned missionary, is the team’s top performer in the weight throw and the hammer throw. Prior to her mission, Whaley had personal best throws of 52.04m in the hammer throw and 17.68m in the weight throw. Whaley currently sits fourth on the BYU all-time indoor record board in the weight throw.

Two other athletes poised to make a difference during the outdoor season are senior sprinter Natalie Stewart and freshman pole vaulter Anginae Monteverde.

Stewart, who sat all of last year due to an ACL injury, competed during the indoor season and made steady improvements during each race. She finished the indoor season with a 13th-place finish in 56.02 during the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.

“This past Monday, I saw the old Natalie in our workout,” Shane said. “She is finally letting go of all the pain she felt in the past.”

Monteverde, a transfer from the University of Oregon, sat out the indoor season due to an ankle injury. According to Shane, Monteverde should be ready to compete in the next few weeks.

Kelsey Brown, who earned second-team All-America honors in the 800 meters during the indoor season, will not begin the outdoor season until the Stanford Invitational.

Results from the invitational can be found at FlashWest.com.