School, Personal Records Set at Robison Invitational

PROVO -- One day after rainy weather caused schedule changes, the BYU women’s track and field team experienced an afternoon of sun and success at the annual Robison Invitational.

“I saw lots of good things happen today,” BYU head coach Craig Poole said. “We had a lot of personal records and even a few school records.”

One school record that was broken today was in the 200-meter dash when All-American Mindy McClurkin broke her own best mark with a 23.30 finish to take first. Just behind McClurkin was sophomore Natalie Stewart, who ran a personal best 23.85 to take second.

McClurkin took the victory in the 100-meters as well, finishing in 11.65 despite running into a head wind. The time ranks second in the MWC, behind her earlier season-best time of 11.60.

“Not a bad day,” McClurkin said. “I felt like I could have run a faster time in the 100m if we had run with the wind, and I wanted to feel a little more pushed in the 200m. But overall I feel like I ran well today.”

Junior Porshe Giddings placed second to McClurkin in the 100m in a season-best time of 11.87. Ashleigh Jameson (12.49) and Emily Page (12.53) took ninth and tenth respectively.

In the 400m, Stewart placed first in the second fastest time run in the MWC this season at 53.91. Just behind Stewart in second was All-American Lacey Cramer in 55.93.

The Cougars also found success in the sprint relays, taking home victories in the 4x100m (45.16) and 4x400m (3:47.60). BYU’s 45.16 time in the 4x100m relay ranks first in the MWC and narrowly missed the school record of 45.03 set in 1999.

“Our 4x100m relay ran really well,” Poole said. “It is as fast as we have run this season, and we are really excited for the future.”

Ashley Dziendziel and Ada Robinson placed first and second, respectively, in the high jump by clearing 1.78m (5-10.00). The mark was a season-best for both jumpers and a career-best for Dziendziel.

BYU also took the remaining three spots in the top five in the high jump, with Taylor Stapley and Diana Blauer both clearing 1.68m (5-06.25) and Jaclyn Jones jumping 1.63m (5-04.25).

Rachel Lange overcame the obstacle of getting nicked by an errant hammer throw to win the 1500m in 4:39.24. The hammer whipped her leg as she was running, leaving a noticeable welt. Freshman Megan Chipman took third in the event in 4:43.54.

Two Cougars swept the top places in the 400m hurdles, with Alyssa Christensen nabbing first in 1:00.99 and Chelsea Taylor snagging second in 1:01.53.

Mindy Robins (third) and Fatima Makakala (fifth) both grabbed top five finishes in the 100m hurdles. Robins finished in a season-best 14.10 and Makakala came in one-tenth of a second later at 14.20.

Makakala and Robins also both finished in the top five in the long jump, with Makakala placing second at 5.50m (18-00.50) and Robins taking fifth at 5.40m (17-08.50). Sophomore Erica Shields took third in the event at 5.48m (17-11.75).

Senior Madara Dzable was the top finisher for the Cougars in the triple jump, taking second place. Dzable leapt 12.27m (40-03.00) to secure the top three finish.

In the javelin, two Cougars managed top three finishes. Senior Sarah Lancaster placed second with a toss of 44.62m (146-04.75) and freshman Allyson Wardell took third with a distance of 43.54m (142-10.25).

Junior Tipaleli Fotu was the lone BYU athlete in the top eight of the hammer throw, taking third place with a throw of 53.24m (174-08.00).

Sharrisa Thayer and Cassandra Woodall placed second and third in the shot put, with throws of 13.73m (45-00.50) and 13.67m (44-10.25), respectively.

The Cougars will be at home again next weekend, for the BYU Invitational Tri-Meet on Friday. There will also be a high school invitational meet run along with the collegiate meet.

CLICK HERE for complete results from the Robison Invitational.