Cougars Win Big at Indoor Invitational

PROVO -- The BYU men's and women's track teams won 11 events during the final day of competition at BYU Indoor Invitational on Friday, including sweeps in the men's 800 and 3,000 meter races.

Senior Lars Kjerengtroen led the Cougars in the 800m with a time of one minute 51.70 seconds and was quickly followed by three other Cougars including Jason Dorais, Kansas Whitear and All-American Nathan Robison, who clocked in at 1:56.62.

BYU men's track coach Mark Robison said he was pleased with the performances of his team during the meet.

"I'm excited about where we are as a team," he said. "We're right where we should be. We performed how I thought we would."

Robison also got solid performances from his team in the 3,000m. The Cougars also swept all four top spots with senior Chad Durham leading the way, clocking in at 8:40.21. He was followed by junior Nick McCombs (8:46.77), junior Warren Davis (8:48.57) and freshman Chandler Goodwin (8:51.91).

The women's team won six events Friday, including two by Amy Menlove a day after she won the pentathlon. Menlove won the long jump with a distance of 20-6.25. She also won the 60-meter hurdles.

All-American Lindsay Metcalf won the women's high jump, leaping nearly six inches higher than Utah State's Katrina Smart. Metcalf cleared 5-10 on her second to last attempt.

The women also scored victories in several other events. Lindsey Sommers won the triple jump with a distance of 38-4, nearly four feet further than Katy Barton of Utah.

Freshman Laura Taylor won the 800m by more than 10 seconds over teammate Lorette Hanson. And fellow freshman Chalis Firl won the 300m with at time of 41.32.

BYU women's track coach Craig Poole said he was encouraged by the team's performance on Friday.

"We're a very young team, so for us to come out and win some events today was exciting," Poole said. "It gives us some confidence as we head into the season."

The women's team also collected a victory in the 4x322 relay.

Senior Bryan Lindsay posted a provisional qualifying mark in the men's mile with a time of 4:05.72. Robison said Lindsay had the best performance of the day for the men.

Robison also said the team has some work to do. He said they would work on individual weaknesses in speed, starts and approaches, adding that the meet was a great tool for improvement.

"Next week will be a huge change," Robison said. "We'll be a lot faster."

The Cougars have a chance to improve when they hit the road next week as the men go to the Boise Invitational on Saturday and the women go to Reno, Nev. for the Pole Vault Summit.

Full results on the Invitational can be found at www.runnercard.com.