Track team shows solid at ISU meet
The Utah State Track and Field team saw its first action of the indoor track season last Saturday in Pocatello at the Idaho State Invitational.
After officially beginning practice way back at the start of the school year, several of the Aggies finally got to cut their teeth on some honest-to-goodness competition at Holt Arena. Many came away with positive performances, providing a promising outlook to the upcoming season which will carry the tracksters clear through to the summer.
“(With the first meet of the season) we don’t know what we’re gonna get. They’ve been training all fall, and then have the break, and then the first meet five days later,” said USU head coach Gregg Gensel. “I was very pleased with a lot of the marks. We had a lot of people with great times.”
Leading the Aggie performances is Armahd Lewis, who placed first in the 60-meter dash in 6.8 seconds. The time is a career best for the senior and fifth all-time in the USU record books. “My best before (Saturday) was like a 6.98, so I was surprised when I ran that time. I was really excited when I looked up at that time,” Lewis said of his performance. “My goal for the indoor season was to run a 6.83, so now my new goal is a 6.70 or 6.69.”
Close on the heels of Lewis was fellow senior Mike Pyrtle, finishing second in 6.95. Pyrtle began the season ranked 21st in the nation for his altitude-adjusted time of 6.71, set last February in New Mexico. The Aggies look to have a strong sprinting core, with freshman Mikey Payne clocking in at 7.19, good for 11th place.
“We’ll see how they continue to improve,” Gensel said. “I was excited to see them run under seven seconds on that track. It’s a wooden track and it’s hard to run sprints on.”
Another pre-season top 50 athlete and all-American jumper, Clint Silcock, kicked his season off with a first place finish in the high jump with a 7’0.5″, besting second place by nearly six inches. Silcock began the season tied for 19th in the nation for his high jump mark of 7′ 1″, which he jumped last March in the Last Chance Qualifier meet in Washington.
In addition to the seasoned veterans, Utah State’s freshmen found opportunities to make some noise. Chari Hawkins had the highest Aggie finish on the women’s side, placing third in the high jump with a height of 5′ 5.75″.
“It was one of those times when you go in and compete and sometimes you have an on-day and sometimes you have an off-day,” Hawkins said. “I was so nervous before the meet. It’s nice having older teammates, because we’re so close. It made it fun.”
Tanner Hunt notched a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash in his first collegiate track meet, clocking in at 49.46.
“For a freshman to run on that track, that’s an awesome time,” Gensel said. Another freshman, AJ Boully, placed eighth in the same event with 50.33.
Other athletes garnered top finishes. Chio Lopez placed second in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:54.32, which is a career best for the redshirt junior. Also earning a career best was Phillip Noble in the pole vault, whose 15′ 5″ was good for a top-five finish. Sophomore Jolyn Wendt placed sixth in the triple jump with a jump of 34′ 6.75″, just ahead of teammate Daphne Jones, who jumped 34′ 5″. Spela Hus led the deepest group of Aggie athletes in the shotput with a throw of 45′ 4.75″, good for third place, tying Hawkins for the top finish on the women’s side. Senior Lyndsey Spencer and Hus placed fourth and eighth in the weight throw with throws of 51′ 10.5″ and 50′ 3.25″.
For many athletes, the first few meets of the season serve as tuneups for the lengthy season. Many athletes tend to shuffle around within the different events in Track and Field. The Aggies will look for steeper competition yet, as well as more opportunities to work out the kinks and seek pre-qualifying marks this weekend in Pullman, Wash. for the two-day Washington State Invitational.
– michael.d.rees@aggiemail.usu.edu