Thrower sets new record
The Utah State track team had another record-setting performance at the BYU Track and Field Inviational Friday in Provo.
Utah State Head Coach Greg Gensel said it was all about trust and improving.
“What I try to teach them is to trust what they’ve done in practice,” Gensel said about the track athletes. “They work really hard in practice, for them to give up on themselves in a meet doesn’t make sense. If they can do it in practice, eventually they should be able to do that in meets.”
Freshman Zack Lloyd proved the formula true. He broke the Aggie shot put record for the second week in a row with a throw of 18.56.
Lloyd beat his former record, set just last week in the Aggies’ meet at Sacramento State, by .87 and earned a first place in the event for the Aggies.
“He just loves the throws,” Gensel said. “So he listens. He’s like a little sponge – actually he’s a big sponge – he tries to make sure he gets it all. If he had it his way, all he would do is throw. But there’s more to life than that, and he knows that.”
Gensel said Lloyd is the epitome of a student athlete. Gensel said Lloyd works really hard and can get things done.
Coming into this season, Gensel said he expected big things from the freshman. What his coach said some people may not know is that Lloyd was No. 1 shot putter and discus thrower in the nation as a senior in high school last year.
With his record-breaking performances, Lloyd, who was named the Big West Conference Athlete of the Week last week, has already qualified for the NCAA Regionals in May.
“He’s not just a sit-back and let everything come to him person,” Gensel said. “Even though he’s really good, he works really hard to be even better.”
Lloyd was not the only Aggie to make it to the winner’s stand Friday. DJ Smith, a sophomore, also came in first in the 200 meters with a time of 21 minutes and 87 seconds.
For the women, Stacie Lifferth finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Caroline Berry finished seventh.
Other top finishes for the Aggie women came from Katie Thatcher, Sara Dimmick and Lida Riplinger. Thatcher had a fourth-place finish in the hurdles, while Dimmick and Riplinger each ran to fourth place as well in the 800 and the 1,500 respectively.
Junior Justin Wickard barely finished in second place in the men’s 110 hurdles, qualifying for the NCAA’s outdoor championships with a time of 14.13.
Dustin Vetica and Scott Bell finished fourth and six, respectively, in the event as well.
Freshman distance runner, Steve Strickland, also performed well on the Aggie men’s side, coming in second place in the 3,000 steeplechase.
Gensel said going into the meet, the Aggies were once again just looking to improve. And, he said, the athletes did that.
“We won several events,” he said. “I saw people get better with what they’re capable of doing.”
The Aggies will next travel to California to compete in the UCLA Invitational Friday and Saturday.
“We’re just trying to do what we do best and that’s to keep improving and trust what we’ve been learning,” Gensel said. “We’re hoping that more and more people are going to start performing better in meets.”
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu