NEW YORK – Rachel Fisher, Lindsey Sowards Nielson and Nicole Rudd Bringhurst led the women’s track and field team with top finishes in their respective events during the New Balance Invitational Friday and Saturday in New York City.

“These three athletes showed us what it takes to score,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “The important thing our other athletes need to learn is these three believed they could do it. It’s all about confidence.”

During the first day, Fisher finished sixth overall in the championship heat with a pole vault of 4.10m (13-05.25). During her final vault of the night, she narrowly missed 4.20m, a mark which would have put her in second place for the event. Fisher currently ranks 14^th in the nation in the pole vault.

Nielson finished third overall in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:34.76, a new personal record.

In the 500-meter dash, Bringhurst finished fourth overall in 1:15.40. Kaylee Packham, whose mother holds the BYU all-time record in the 500, finished eighth overall in 1:16.45.

Taylor Stapley finished 10^th  overall in the 60-meter hurdles just two places from qualifying for the finals. She finished with a time of 9.00.

During the second and final day of the invitational, the Cougars were led by Elizabeth Wilson in the triple jump. Wilson finished fourth overall with a life-time best jump of 12.11m (39-08.75). This mark gives her the best jump for her team so far this year. She currently ranks 80^th in the nation in the triple jump.

Sarah Yingling and Katie Swanson also recorded life-time bests in the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters, respectively. Yingling finished eighth in the 3,000 with a time of 9:59.11. Swanson finished ninth in the 5,000 in 17:24.96.

The 4x200m relay team, consisting of Arlene Gowar, Aubrey Hale, Brie Simmons and Danielle Figgins Johnson, finished third overall with a time of 1:41.60. The team’s time falls short of the BYU all-time record by less than three seconds, which was set at the 2010 New Balance Invitational.

“Overall, this was a good meet,” Shane said. “It gave our young athletes some experience, and we will be able to bring that experience back next year to help improve our standing as a team. We look forward to next week to build on what we accomplished here.”

Next weekend, the women’s track and field team will send its distance runners back to Washington for the Husky Classic and the power athletes back to Colorado for the Air Force Team Challenge.

Full results from the New Balance invitational can be found here.

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s track and field team heads to New York this weekend to compete in the annual New Balance Invitational, one of the most prestigious indoor meets of the year.

“The meet director at Armory has put years of effort into turning this meet into a big deal,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “It is the granddaddy of all indoor meets. It consistently brings together the best teams from across the nation.”

BYU will compete against athletes from more than 100 schools, including eight of the nation's top 10 teams: Clemson, Kansas, Oregon, Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M, Florida and Iowa State.

The New Balance Invitational is a scored meet, which is not typical of most indoor invitationals. In years past the women’s team finished second in 2012, first in 2011 and second in 2010 beating out national powers LSU, Texas A&M and Baylor.

In last year’s meet, National Champion Nachelle Mackie and All-American Christen Guenther led BYU to its second-place finish. Mackie won the 800-meter run, broke BYU’s school record and also broke the New Balance Invitational record for the 800. Guenther cleared 4.30m (14-1.25) in the pole vault to finish second. Her mark broke the BYU pole vault record, which still stands today.

Also during last year’s meet, Katie Palmer, Lacey Bleazard and Sarah Edwards joined Mackie to break a 25-year old school record in the 4x800. The four combined to finish first in 8:37.97, more than 18 seconds faster than the second-place team.

In this year’s invitational, Rachel Fisher is set to lead the team in the pole vault and Elizabeth Wilson in the jumps. In the past three meets, Fisher has finished first with vaults of 3.95m, 4.10m and 4.00m. During the Cherry and Silver Invitational Fisher’s mark of 4.10m was her highest vault in more than a year.

During the Air Force Invitational last week, Wilson finished third in the pentathlon with 3,762 points, a lifetime best. She also recorded lifetime bests in the shot put (13.35) and long jump (5.86m). She is set to compete in the long jump and triple jump. Melissa Keltner will also compete in the jumps with Wilson.

Freshman Kaylee Packham will compete in the 500-meter race, a race not typically run in collegiate competition. Packham’s mother, Stephanie Packham, currently holds the BYU indoor record in the 500, which she set Feb. 28, 1987, at the BYU Invitational.

The invitational will begin Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET with the women’s 3K in the Armory Track and Field Center.

Live streaming and results can be found on Flotrack.org.