Cougars Open Season Strong

PROVO -- The 2010 BYU indoor track season got under way Friday at the Smith Fieldhouse, with both the men’s and women’s teams competing against athletes from Utah Valley, Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah.

The day featured the multi-event and field athletes of both squads, with the women competing and finishing the five events of the pentathlon and the men completing four of the seven heptathlon events. Both also competed in several field events.

“We have done a very good job today,” said BYU women’s coach Craig Poole. “It’s the first meet, and I think we got some technical things worked out. We aren’t ready to set records just yet, but this was a solid start to the season.”

The Cougars finished at or near the top in every event, with the strongest showing for the women coming in the long jump. Senior Mindy McClurkin finished first in the event (20-05.75), while senior All-American Amy Otis placed second (19-09.00), and sophomore Erica Shields (17-09.00) and junior Mindy Robins (17-05.75) rounded out the top four.

“I think for the first meet we did really well,” said McClurkin. “This is a meet where we can find out weaknesses, and really learn what we need to focus on. I’m pleased with our performance and feel good about this start to the season.”

The women also had success in the shot put where Cougars took three of the top four places. Sophomore Tiana Ili placed first with a throw of 44-07.50 and was closely followed by teammate Cassandra Woodall (44-03.50). Krystle Forester rounded out the top four with a throw of 43-10.00.

The pole vault was also a strong event for the Cougars, as they took all top six spots. Senior Kari Clark led the way with a vault of 12-09.50, and Cougars Kelli Ehardt (12-05.50) and Rachel Brooke Fisher (12-05.50) placed second and third respectively.

While the women’s team came out strong, then men’s team competed at an equally high level.

Junior All-American Leif Arrhenius earned victories in both the weight throw (67-07.50) and the shot put (58-00.00). Arrhenius was followed in the weight throw by junior Oliver Whaley (59-03.00), and in the shot put by senior Danny Lawson (55-09.00).

Arrhenius continued his winning ways in the indoor discus where he again took first place, this time with a throw of 185-00.00. Lawson finished third in the event with a distance of 162-00.50 and Whaley finished fourth with a throw of 145-06.00.

Also finishing in first was sophomore Anse Myller DeAraujo, who finished at the top of the long jump with a distance of 23-02.75.

The BYU Indoor Invitational will continue Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse with the first event starting at 10 a.m. MST and is scheduled to finish at 4:30 p.m. MST with the men’s 4x1 lap relay.