USU’s Warr sets another school record
Despite the wind, the Utah State track and field team claimed eight top finishes, including another school record for Neil Warr, at Saturday’s Weber State Invitational in Ogden.
Two weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational, Warr threw the javelin 233-05, setting a USU record and earning him the USU Athlete of the Week and the Big West Conference track Athlete of the Week honors.
This week Warr did it again.
Throwing 236-02, Warr broke his previous USU record for the javelin and the William H. Childs Stadium record set in 1998, in addition to earning him a first place at the invitational.
Despite what Warr has done at the javelin in the past three weeks, Head Coach Gregg Gensel said Warr will only get better.
“I think [Warr] can continue to improve because he hasn’t had the best of conditions this season, even when he set the first school record at Stanford,” he said. “Once he gets the right conditions, his throws are going to be even better.”
With Saturday’s throw, Warr has increased his standings nationally, moving into third place, and kept his first place position in the region.
Along with Warr, discus thrower Kelli Burton, who threw 160-11, Ryan Bruhn who threw the hammer 200-08, and Danny Elggren, who recorded a time of 51.80 in the 400-meter hurdles, all increased their regional qualifying standings, but that does not surprise Gensel.
“This is the time of the year that we expect them to step it up, and they are certainly doing that,” Gensel said.
In addition to earning first in the discus, Burton also won first in the shot put, throwing 48-03.50, the only Aggie athlete to win two events Saturday.
Also on the women’s side, with her third place jump of 12-00, Debra Barker qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament in the pole vault. Along with Barker, discus thrower Candice Workman qualified for Regionals with a throw of 152-03 and high jumper Katie Farner qualified for conference with a jump of 5-04.25, both earning third place.
The women’s track team was lead by Carol Cabanillas, who earned second place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:40.17, trailed by third-place finisher Melanie Marek, who recorded a time of 18:52.07. Tiffany Strickland also finished third in the 2,000-meter steeplechase (7:38.73).
On the men’s side, the Aggies ended with a total of nine top-three finishes and six first-place finishes. Robert Clark in the high jump (6-08.50), Justin Wickard in the 110-meter hurdles (14.25) and the USU A team in the 4×400-meter relay (3:15.09) also ended in first place.
Other top three finishers in field events were Josh Sides in the shot put (56-07) who came in second and Lonnie Carter for the triple jump, ending in third with a distance of 46-02.75.
On the men’s track team, Joel Johnson finished third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.63. David Causse, 100-meter dash, Nick Seedall, 400-meter hurdles, and Steve Prescott, 5,000-meter run all finished in fourth place.
For the most part, the distance runners had a more difficult time competing in this invitational because of the weather, Gensel said.
“It was a tough day, not because it was cold, but because it was really, really windy and it affected some of the performances,” he said.
But despite the difficulties performance by the men’s distance runners, Gensel said he is happy with the team.
“Everybody is progressing really well, and I can see a lot of things starting to happen,” Gensel said.
USU will host its first home meet of the outdoor season April 19 at the annual Mark Faldmo Invitational held at USU’s Ralph Maughan Track Stadium.
Field events will begin at 10 a.m., while running events will start at noon. The original home opener was scheduled for April 5, but was cancelled due to snow.
-csmo@cc.usu.edu