Track team runs, jumps to top spots
The Utah State track squad pulled down three first place finishes for the men and two for the women Saturday afternoon at the BYU Y Invitational in Provo, Utah.
The men’s 4×400-meter team placed first with a time of 41:44. The Aggies led early in the race. After the first baton hand-off, the second runner placed considerable distance between himself and the nearest BYU competitor. The other teams could not catch up and junior Scott Bell finished the final leg of the race for the first place finish.
Junior Vance Twitchell placed first in the men’s 5,000-meter with a time of 15:02.12. Justin Wickard, a senior, secured the remaining first place finish for the men in the long jump, with a leap of 7.05m (23-01.75) Wickard also placed second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.03). He was followed closely by Scott Bell, who finished fourth (14.45).
In the men’s javelin, the Aggies pulled down second, third, and fourth place finishes. Sophomore Chase Taylor threw a distance of 50.21m (164-09) for second place, Cameron Madsen, a freshman, took third with a distance of 48.02m (157-06), and freshman Patrick Monday finished fourth at 45.52m (149-00).
On the women’s side, the Aggies dominated the 1,500-meter run, securing the first and second place spots. Senior Kristen Guymon, who took first place in the mile at the last BYU Cougar Invitational, once again took first place with a time of 4:31.38. She qualified for regionals. Teammate Jennifer Twitchell, a junior, finished on her heels at 4:32.17. Twitchell led the pack coming into the final 100-meter stretch, but Guymon sprinted past to take first. Four other Aggies finished the mile as well, with junior Caroline Berry finishing fifth with a time of 4:51.32, and freshman Vanessa Hawkins placing sixth with a time of 4:55.73.
Twithcell, who qualified for regionals at this meet for the second time in her college career, said, “It feels good. It’s nice to have it taken care of.”
In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, junior Amber Judd finished a solid first at 14.18. She also finished fifth in the 200-meters at 25.54. Fellow hurdler Dana Strauss, a sophomore, finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.41.
Sophomore Kathryn Duhadway set a personal best at 3.80m in the pole vault, beating her former outdoor record of 11-05.75. She finished second in the pole vault at this invitational.
“It was a hard transition going from indoor to outdoor, but I’m back into it,” Duhadway said. “A year ago I was jumping 11 feet. This year I’m jumping over 13.”
Freshman Tara Pickett took second in the women’s high jump with a jump of 1.60m Krista Larson, also a freshman, placed third in the shot put with a throw of 11.41m (37-05.25), and was followed by sophomore Aimee Savageau, who took fourth with a distance of 11.19m (36-08.50).
In the women’s 4×100-meter race, the lady Aggies were in the lead up to the second hand-off, but tripped and fell as the hand-off was attempted. They did not finish the race.
Other top finishes for the Aggies include a second place finish by freshman Elaine Connolly in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.49, and a third place finish in the hammer throw by junior Kevin Liu.
The men’s 4×400-meter ‘A’ team took second with a time of 3:14.67 and the ‘B’ team finished fifth at 3:21.95.
The schools participating in the invitational included BYU, Utah Valley State, Weber State, Western State College, Eastern Washington, and Southern Utah.
The Aggies will return home next weekend to host the Mark Faldmo Track and Field Invitational on April 22. The event will be held at the Ralph Maughn Stadium.
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu