Holding the fort; Eight Ags place first in home track meet
The Utah State track and field team captured eight first-place finishes and three runners clinched NCAA regional provisional marks in the Mark Faldmo Invitational Saturday.
The invitational was held at the Ralph Maughn Track Stadium on campus. Local teams including BYU, University of Utah, Southern Utah, Weber and Idaho State competed. Last year, the Aggies pulled down six first-place finishes in this invitational.
Junior DJ Smith took first place in the 200-meter with a time of 20.96, with his provisional qualifying time also the third fastest mark in USU outdoor track history. Smith leads the Western Athletic Conference in the 100-meter. Teammate Cedric Young, a junior, also qualified for regionals in the 200-meter with a time of 21.39.
In the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, junior Vance Twitchell led the three-man competition the whole race to take first place with a time of 9:15.22. His nearest competitor, Drew Casselberry from Weber State, finished 44 seconds behind him.
Scott Bell, a junior, had two second-place finishes. Bell completed the 400-meter hurdles with a provisional qualifying mark and a personal best mark at 51.32. He also had a provisional qualifying mark in the 110-meter with a time of 14.39.
Junior Craig Bown finished second in the 800-meter with a time of 1:52.34. The men’s 4×100-meter relay team finished first in a tight race with a time of 40.64.
On the field side, junior Logan Moore took first in the javelin, throwing a distance of 57.59 meters. Two Aggies took second place in a four-way tie in the high jump. Freshmen Michael McConkie and Clinton Silcock jumped 2.03 meters.
Kevin Lui, a junior, finished third in the hammer throw with a distance of 55.27 meters. The men’s pole vaulters also placed.
Freshman pole vaulter Max Hansen said, “Well, I’ve jumped a lot higher, so that was a little disappointing. Each meet seems to be a little better.”
Fellow pole vaulter, sophomore Kathryn Duhadway, secured first place in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.81 meters. Teammate Kaylene Gastaldi, a junior, tied for third with a mark of 3.51 meter.
Two Aggies tied for third in the women’s high jump. Sophomore Aimee Sauvageau and freshman Tara Pickett both jumped 1.63 meter.
Senior Kristen Guymon finished first in the 800-meter with a time of 2:10.71. Teammate Jill Steel, also a senior, followed close behind and finished third with a time of 2:12.13.
Stacie Lifferth, a sophomore, sprinted from behind during the final 100 meters of the race to take first with a time of 18:22.37. Junior Jennifer Twitchell took first in the 3,000-meter women’s steeplechase with a time of 11:35.04.
Junior Amber Judd took second place in the 100-meter hurdles with a mark of 14.13. Judd also finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 1:01.16.
Amy Egan, a senior, finished third in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:47.74. Freshman Elaine Connolly also finished third in the 400-meter with a time of 57.05.
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu
Utah State’s Scot Bell (left) and Jake Geppsen (right) race against a Southern Utah runner in the 110 meter hurdles during Saturday’s meet in Logan. Bell took second in the event.
Aggie Kevin Liu winds up to throw the shot put during Saturday’s meet at the Ralph Maughn Track Stadium.
Utah State’s Becki Brostwick leads a pack of runners at the Mark Faldmo Invitationaal at the Ralph Maughn Track Stadium on campus Saturday.