Trackster Strickland sets school record
USU’s track and field squad split up over the weekend sending athletes to compete at BYU’s Cougar Invitational and to Oregon’s Pepsi Invitational.
Eugene, Ore., AKA Track Town USA, is home to long time track and field powerhouse University of Oregon. University of Oregon played host to Indiana, Kansas State and USU over the weekend, giving USU their first chance to participate in a team-scored meet this season.
The Aggie women finished in third place with 132.50 points, behind first place Oregon who finished with 233.50 points and Indiana who scored 167 points, and in front of Kansas State who came in fourth with 119 points. USU’s men finished in a disappointing fourth place with 127 points, behind Indiana’s 200, Oregon’s 194 and Kansas State’s 130 points.
Junior Steve Strickland stood out in Oregon with USU’s only first place finish which he earned in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing with a school record time of 8:49.53.
Junior Ashlee Cannon came in third place during the 200m at 25.24 seconds while freshman Katelyn Jensen also finished in the three spot for her event, the 400m dash with a time of 57.07 seconds. Senior Katie Thatcher and junior Erin Stratton both finished just off the podium in fourth place for the 400m hurdles and the 1,500m with times of 1:02.21 and 4:27.03, respectively. The women’s 4x400m relay team, consisting of Cannon, sophomores Maria Halton and Kimiko Kamo, and senior Kaylene Gastaldi, came in third place at 47.61. USU’s 4x400m relay team with juniors Jenn Day and Elaine Connolly, sophomore Heidi Hopkins and Thatcher finished in fourth with a time of 3:50.22. In the women’s field events Spela Hus, freshman from Celje, Slovenia, took second in the shot put with a throw of 46-03.25 feet, while senior Krista Larson also took second in the hammer throw with a throw of 180-11. Larson also took fifth in the discus with a throw of 135-11, just short of her sophomore teammate Shannon Prince who finished in fourth with a 147-08 foot throw.
On the men’s side, Nick Karren finished in second place for the 400m hurdles at 51.62, followed by Keith Williams who finished in fourth at 54.07. Williams also came in fourth during the 110m hurdles at 14.73, two spots behind freshman teammate Dylan Nielson’s second place time of 14.24. Sophomore Chio Lopez finished in fourth place during the 1500m at 3:53.10. The 4x100m relay team consisting of Karren, Nielson, sophomore Blake Bolen and senior John Strang came in third place with a 41.78 time, and senior Brandon Waler came in third in the 400m at 49.53.
For the men’s field events junior Tyler Ellis took second in the shot put at 51-07.25 and fourth in the hammer at 167-07. Freshman Daniel Cruz followed Ellis in the shot put with a third place with a throw of 50-10.25, just barely edging out freshman teammate Bryce Hall who threw 50-09. Hall finished the discus in third place at 151-02 and Cruz finished both the hammer and the discus in sixth place.
At Friday’s BYU Cougar Invitational USU competed against Utah, Utah Valley, Southern Utah, Wyoming and BYU.
Brian McKenna finished the 1,500m with a time of 4:08.80, a personal best. He was followed by his sophomore classmates Todd Griffith who finished in 11th at 4:10.96 and Eric Larson who came in at 4:17.85 for 15th place. Senior pole vaulter Palmer Hawkins came in 12th at 13-1.50. Junior Lukasz Wicha and Nate Lloyd finished their events with personal bests, Wicha came in seventh in the 400m at 50.95 and Lloyd came in 10th in the 800m at 1:58.71.
Also finished with PRs was junior Brook McNaughton who finished in seventh in the hammer throw at 142-05. Classmate Cortnie Broadus finished in ninth in the shot put with a PR of 38-10.50.
The track teams splits up once again next week with part of the squad heading to UCLA for the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Invitational and the rest heading south again for the Weber State Invitational.
–c.h.j@aggiemail.usu.edu