Sides leads USU track with shot put win at AF, Burton comes in second
Competing in the shot put, Josh Sides led the track team, as he was the only Utah State University athlete to earn first place at Air Force Invitational last weekend.
With a distance of 57-01 in the event, Sides was one of only six USU athletes competing in the invitational who placed in the top three positions, but it didn’t come easy for him.
Mark Burton, also competing in shot put for the Aggies, ended the meet right behind Sides in second place, with a distance of 56-06.
Another pair of Aggies who finished side-by-side were high jumpers Matt Price and Robert Crocket. Price ended in second place with a jump of 6-08 3/4, followed closely by Crocket who cleared 6-06 3/4.
On the women’s team, Jana McKinney and Kelli Burton showed their talents as they were the only women to place in the top three. In the high jump, McKinney finished third as she cleared 5-03 and Kelli showed her power, finishing third in the shot put, with a distance of 51-01 1/2.
Although the women only placed two athletes in the top three, they were able to finish the invitational with eight athletes in the top six. In the pole vault, Debra Barker, Kaylene Gastaldi, Tricia Jacobson and Alana Geisler all tied for fifth with a height of 10-11 3/4.
In the weight throw, Ashlee Keemer landed sixth place with a 50-00 throw, along with Kathleene Hobbs, who earned sixth place with a time of 26.14 seconds in the 200-meter dash.
Other notable finishes by the men’s team were Danny Elggren, finishing fourth after running a 49.16 second 400-meter dash, and Cedric Young who ran a 21.93 second 200-meter dash, earning him fifth place.
The women’s team finished the invitational in ninth place with 32.50 points and the men’s team finished in sixth place with 58 points. The invitational was comprised of 12 teams, but was dominated by the Colorado State University Rams, who finished first overall in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Representatives of the track team could not be reached after repeated phone calls.
–csmo@cc.usu.edu