Men take 4th, women 5th in indoor track championships
Utah State senior James Parker set a school record in the weight throw at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, where the men’s indoor track team placed fourth and the women’s team finished fifth.
Parker’s throw of 21.57 meters was also a personal record and met the qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 9-10. Parker also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 18.35 meters.
At the championships, held Friday and Saturday in Flagstaff, Ariz., Washington State University’s men took home the region title with 108.5 points, and the University of Arizona finished second out of 12 teams with 105 points.
The University of Washington came in third with a score of 104, while USU earned fourth with 85 points and the University of California Los Angeles took fifth with a team score of 83.
On the women’s side, Arizona captured the title with 142 points, and UCLA finished second with a score of 130. WSU earned third place with 125 points while Arizona State University took fourth with 51.5 points. The Aggie women finished fifth with a score of 51.
Other top finishers on the men’s team were Anthony Stewart, who earned third in the 200-meter dash and fifth in the 60 meter and Brick Bergeson, who took third in both the 800 and the mile. The men’s distance medley also finished third.
Rebekah Thornley led the women’s team with a first-place finish in the mile, and Beka Leffler took third in both the 3,000 and the 5,000. The women’s 4×400 and distance medley relays each earned third place.
The last team meet for the Aggies will be the Last Chance Meet Thursday, Friday and Saturday where those who have met a qualifying standard will be able to compete for the last time to qualify for the indoor national championships.