Carr and Ward lead BYU to victories on the track

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Curtis Carr won the 3000 meter steeple chase and Jared Ward took home the 5000 meter race for the BYU track and field team on the final day of the Virginia Challenge.

“Curtis had a really nice close today,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “He had a really dramatic come from behind victory. He came charging back and closed a gap of about 40 meters over the last 200.”

Carr finished with a time of 8:57.03 edging out Jacob Smith from High Point by 0.43 seconds. Travis Fuller finished fourth in the steeple chase with a new personal record of 9:04.95.

Ward finished with a mark of 13:57.44 and beat out two professional athletes from the United States. Tommy Gruenewald added a time of 14:12.16 and placed fifth among the collegiate athletes in the 5000 meter race.

Kristi Rush set a personal record in the 1500 meters with a mark of 4:30.77, good enough for second in her heat.

“It’ll be nice to get back home so that we can retrain and refocus,” Eyestone said. “Some of our team will be getting ready for the Georgia Tech meet coming up, while others prepare for the NCAA regionals.”

Several athletes from BYU will travel to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invitational, a two day meet beginning Friday.