Cougars to compete at four meets in Los Angeles

PROVO, Utah – No. 5/20 BYU track and field will feature athletes in four different meets in the Los Angeles metropolitan area April 18-20.

“This will be a big weekend with the meets we’re competing at,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone. “I think between all the event groups we should have some good performances. It’s always the goal to have more athletes get in regional-qualifying position.”

The Cougars will split up primarily by event groups across the four track and field meets. The distance athletes will primarily compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 18-19) at Azuza Pacific University. The throwers will compete at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 18) and Beach Invitational (April 19-20), both held at Long Beach State. The remaining event groups will be at the Mt. SAC Relays (April 18-20), held on the Mt. San Antonio College campus.

All-American Rory Linkletter will make his outdoor season debut after traveling to represent Canada at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Denmark. Linkletter will open his outdoor season in the 5000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

After running a nation-leading 1500m time at the Sun Angel Classic, Erica Birk-Jarvis will run in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time this season. The All-American last ran in the steeplechase in 2017 when she ran a personal-best 9:58.22 for the fifth-fastest time in BYU history.

Eyestone expects the throwers to have solid performances at the two meets at Long Beach State. He noted seniors Jefferson Jarvis and Jacob Foutz as two athletes that have potential for strong performances. Both athletes are currently in position to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims in two different events. Jarvis has probable regional-qualifying marks in the shot put (18.12m/59-75) and discus (53.78m/176-5) while Foutz is currently in qualifying position in the hammer (63.30m/207-8) and discus (54.43m/178-7).

Notables

• The BYU women’s team currently has to top-ranked 800m, 1500m, 3000m steeplechase and 10,000m squads according to USTFCCCA
• The BYU men’s team currently has the top-ranked 3000m steeplechase, 10,000m, and decathlon squads according to the USTFCCCA
• Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes leads the NCAA in the women's 800m (2:02.49)
• Erica Birk-Jarvis has the fastest women's 1500m time in the NCAA (4:13.57)
• Conner Mantz ranks as the No. 1 men's 10,000m runner in the NCAA (28:18.18)

Meet Information

• Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter for live team updates
• Bryan Clay Invitational: Steaming services, live results and schedule on FloTrack.org
• Beach Invitational/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate: Live results and schedule on longbeachstate.com
• Mt. SAC Relays: Live results and schedule on mtsacrelays.com