Cougars set to compete in Aztec Invitational

PROVO, Utah – The BYU track and field teams will travel to San Diego to compete in the Aztec Invitational this week at the SDSU Sports Deck. Events will begin Friday, Mar. 22 and continue through Saturday, Mar. 23.

“The first outdoor meet last week was great and that momentum spins off to this weekend,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We have some athletes competing that didn’t compete last week. It will be a select, smaller group in San Diego–mainly our short sprints, jumps, pole vaulters, some of our high jumpers and throwers.”

All-American Andrea Stapleton-Johnson will open her outdoor season this weekend after finishing eighth overall in the high jump with a mark of 1.81m/5-11.25 and earning first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Eyestone anticipates a strong start to the outdoor season for Stapleton-Johnson as she continues to reach her record goals.

“It’s a great venue for pole vaulting so we are excited to see how our pole vaulters do–in particular, Elise Romney,” said Eyestone. “She has been jumping extremely well lately and good things are coming her way this season.”

Last week, Romney cleared a mark of 4.10m/13-5.25 to finish first in the pole vault and tie for the No. 9 BYU all-time mark. Alex Rios and Jameson Shirley will also be competing in the pole vault. Rios recently set a career-best 5.20m/17-0.75 in the pole vault during the 2019 indoor season at the BYU Indoor Invitational. Shirley took second in the pole vault at last weekend’s UNLV Invite with a mark of 4.95m/16-2.75.

Eyestone is looking forward to Rickey Fantroy Jr.’s first outdoor meet of the season competing in the triple jump. In the 2018 outdoor season, Fantroy took fourth in the triple jump (14.49m/47-6.5) at the Aztec Invitational last year. Fantroy recently finished fourth at the 2019 MPSF Indoor Championships with a career-best 15.30m/50-2.5 in the triple jump. Jake Peister is also set to compete in the triple jump after placing second (14.84m/48-8.25) in his first meet in BYU uniform at the 2019 Willie Williams Classic.

Eyestone expects to see strong races from sprinters Jaslyn Gardner, Haley Rogers and Derek Sorensen. Freshman Gardner placed second and set a career-best 11.82 in the 100m in her collegiate outdoor season debut in the Willie Williams Classic last weekend. Rogers is set to compete in the 200m. In the 2018 indoor season, Rogers clocked a career-best time of 24.08 to finish eighth in the 200m at the Aztec Invitational. Sorensen will race in the 100m and 200m. Last weekend, Sorenson won the men’s 100m with a time of 10.53 in the Willie Williams Classic.  

Eyestone noted that several throwers will be competing as well, including Jefferson Jarvis in the shot put. In the first meet of the 2019 outdoor season, Jarvis threw a potential regional-qualifying mark and placed second in the shot put (17.72m/58-1.75). Jarvis is looking to break 18m/59-0.6 at the Aztec Invitational. 

Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter for team updates from the Aztec Invitational. Live stats will be available on the BYU track and field schedule page by the first day of competition.