Aggies Fare Well At Thursday’s Utah Collegiate Challenge Twilight Track And Field Meet
SALT LAKE CITY – In their final tune-up before next week’s conference championships, the Utah State men’s and women’s track and field teams posted seven event victories as part of 30 top five finishes Thursday at the Utah Collegiate Challenge Twilight meet, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but postponed after only one event due to rain. The meet was hosted by the University of Utah at East High School’s Talley Stevens Outdoor Track Complex at Salt Lake City.
“We accomplished what we wanted to today in our final preparation for next week’s conference championships,” USU head coach Gregg Gensel said. “We had some solid performances. We were able to get one last competition in before the conference meet and do it in a manner where we wouldn’t be tired for next week, so doing this meet mid-week really worked out.”
Thursday’s meet was USU’s final tune-up before the Western Athletic Conference Championships next Wednesday-Saturday, May 14-17 at Boise, Idaho and hosted by Boise State.
In a meet postponed after rain washed out a majority of Wednesday’s action with hammer throw was the only event completed Wednesday afternoon, Utah State was joined in the competition field by Brigham Young, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Weber State and host Utah’s women’s team, as well as a few Idaho State athletes.
USU came out with four victories on the women’s side and three on the men’s side, with the Aggie women and men notching 15 top five places apiece.
For the Utah State women, junior Tara Pickett won the high jump with a personal-best 5-7 clearance, moving up to a tie for third on the WAC top 10 list, while classmate Vanessa Hawkins won the women’s 3,000 meter run with a 10:30.85 time. Sophomore Erin Stratton joined the winning festivities in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:37.14 and freshman Sonia Grabowska tied for first in the pole vault with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 12-7.50.
On the men’s side, junior Blake Hadfield won the men’s long jump with a 23-7.50 distance while freshman Joe Canavan won the shot put with a 51-6.25 mark and the Aggie men’s 4×100 meter relay team made up of seniors Dasheek Akwenye and Lamar Brown, junior John Strang and freshman Silas Pimentel broke the tape in 41.51.
Other women’s highlights included junior Krista Larson logging a pair of personal bests, finishing second in the hammer throw with a 187-7 distance and third in the discus with a mark of 150-3. Larson’s hammer throw mark moves her up to second on the WAC best list and is the fifth-best mark in USU history. Her discus distance ties her for ninth on the conference season list and is the 10th-best in Aggie history.
The USU men posted a 3-4-5 finish in the 200 meter dash with junior Keith Williams placing third in 22.36, while junior Brandon Waller was fourth with a 22.43 and senior Brett Knighton was fifth at 22.46.
The men’s 400 meter results were not included in the final results.
For more information on next week’s WAC Championships, including ticket information, go to www.wacsports.com.