Athletes Prep for Season Climax at Robison Invitational

PROVO -- The Cougars take the spotlight for one last regular season home meet this weekend as they play host to several local and regional teams at the Robison Invitational beginning Wednesday.

"The Robison Invitational has traditionally been a very fine meet offering a wide range of experiences and attracting good teams," women's coach Craig Poole said. "It is a great opportunity to run around at a great facility and we hope for some exciting results. The athletes have done well in the past at this meet and we're excited to show what we have to offer and get the support of our local fans."

With 13 BYU women and 21 BYU men already qualified for Regionals and many more with their sights set on qualification, there will be plenty of notable performances throughout the four days of competition. The meet begins with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon Wednesday and Thursday and all other events will be Friday and Saturday.

The pole vaulting squads created much of the buzz at the Y Invitational two weeks ago. Mandy Kelly Lonsway set a school record of 13 feet 5.25 inches for the women and Whitney Neves put in a nation's top-15 vault of 17 feet 6 inches in the men's competition. They will be back this weekend along with the seven other pole vault regional qualifiers, among them being reigning outdoor national champion Robbie Pratt.

The throwing events should also provide a favorable outcome for the teams. All-American Niklas Arrhenius, who is currently ranked second in the nation in the discus, will throw as will his spouse, nationally-ranked javelin thrower Tiffany Arrhenius.

The meet is $2 for students and faculty, $3 for individuals and $10 for families each day of competition. Athletes under the age of 14 can enter free with uniform.

The Cougars will compete at the Weber Twilight next Thursday to complete the regular season.

The season will climax in the month of May, beginning with the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships May 10-13 at BYU. Two weeks later, athletes from more than 30 teams will vie for an opportunity to compete at nationals at the NCAA Outdoor Regionals May 26-27 in Provo. Tickets are available for the MWC Championships and NCAA Regionals on www.byucougars.com or through the BYU ticket office.

Results will be available after each event and complete results will be posted in the meet information at www.byutrack.com following Saturday competition. For more information about the BYU track and field program, visit www.byutrack.com.