ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Pole vaulters Rachel Fisher and Kelli Ehardt led the BYU women’s track team with first- and fifth-place finishes in a pool of 30 vaulters this weekend at the annual Cherry & Silver Invitational.

“Rachel (Fisher) had an amazing meet,” assistant coach Corey Murdock said, “especially since it has been about a year and a half since she’s jumped that high because of injuries. To see her come back with a smile on her face is a great sign. It’s been a long road back for her.”

Fisher finished with a vault of 4.10m (13-05.25).

Ehardt, who sat out last year due to injury, showed vast improvements in her first meet back clearing 3.80m (12-05.50) without much effort. On her next vault, however, Ehardt lost grip of the pole and landed upside down, headfirst in the pit. According to Murdock, “she was rolling up to that point.”

“Kelli (Ehardt) has also had a long road to get back to where she is,” Murdock said. “Following her accident, she got right back up and had a great attempt. It was pretty scary, but to see how she responded shows a lot about her character and how much it means to her to compete.”

Another highlight for the Cougars was a third-place finish for BYU’s ‘A’ 4x400 meter team. The team, comprising of Angela Shields, Kaylee Packham, Natalie Stewart and Nicole Rudd, finished with a time of 3:49.25.

The ‘B’ 4x400 team with Alyssa Parco, Melissa Keltner, Brie Simmons and Andee Shelton finished 12^th with a time of 3:56.94.

During the 400m hurdles, an event consisting of only BYU athletes, Angela Shields finished first in 1:01.73 followed closely by Packham in 1:02.62. Teammates Andee Shelton and Kensey Berry finished third and fourth with times of 1:05.95 and 1:07.07, respectively.

Rudd and Stewart also competed in the 400m finishing ninth (56.93) and 10th (57.00), respectively. This was Stewart's first time competing since the 2011 indoor season.

In the high jump the top two finishers for the Cougars were Taylor Stapley and newcomer Melissa Merrill. Stapley finished seventh with a jump of 1.68m (5-06.00), and Merrill placed 10^th with a jump of 1.63m (5-04.25).

The Cougars head to Colorado Springs, Colo., next weekend for the Air Force Team Challenge.

Full results for the Cherry & Silver Invitational can be found here.

PROVO, Utah – The women’s track and field team heads to familiar territory this weekend to compete in the annual Cherry & Silver Invitational. The University of New Mexico will host the event.

“This weekend is going to be more competitive with more teams,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “Our athletes will be running at 6,000 feet, which will be helpful for some of the events but more difficult for others, particularly for our distance runners. New Mexico has a great track many of our girls are familiar with, so we expect good things.”

Other teams competing in the invitational include the Academy of Art University, No. 9 California, Colorado State, New Mexico State, Portland State, No. 20 San Diego State and No. 13 Stanford.

Last week the Cougars sent portions of their team to two different events, the BYU Invitational and the Boise State Invitational. The throwers competed at BYU while the sprinters, jumpers and distances runners competed at Boise State.

Sophomore Brianna French and senior Deezbaa Whaley highlighted the BYU Invitational with second-place finishes in the discus and the weight throw. French finished with a throw of 44.38 meters in the discus just behind Utah Valley University’s Maryn Pincock who threw for 45.20.

In the weight throw, Whaley competed unattached with a throw of 17.96m, a new personal record. This was Whaley’s first competition since the 2010 indoor season.

During the Boise State Invitational, the Cougars dominate with first-place finishes in four different events. Walk-on freshman Rachel Stewart finished first in the 800m with a time of 2:14.97 in her first collegiate track competition. Transfer student Kelsey Brown took first in the mile, her first race as a Cougar, with a time of 4:51.31.

Andrea Nelson Harrison and Rachel Fisher also both took first in the 3,000m and the pole vault, respectively.

Due to the elevation of the invitational this weekend, many of the distance runners are not traveling with the team to compete.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. MST with the women’s long jump.

Live results can be found at liverunningresults.com following each event.