PROVO -- The Cougars have a strong status going into Saturday's final day of the Mountain West Conference Championships after several champion performances Friday.
The men are currently positioned in first after Friday's competition with 101 points, the women, in second with 71 points, behind Colorado State in first with 92.5 points.
The field events brought several upbeat results for BYU to begin the individual events. Returning MWC champion David Pendergrass once again jumped his way to the top of the high jump medal's stand. Pendergrass jumped to 7 feet 1/2 inch for his third conference win in the event.
He was followed by BYU freshman Trevor Heiner, who finished second with a height of 6 feet 10.75 inches. Senior Devin Howe then stepped up after taking second in the decathlon Thursday to place fifth in the event to add points to the Cougar tally.
Kristin Hirst took a second-place finish in the women's high jump with a jump of 5 feet 6.5 inches. Two other women also scored points in the event, Sarah Lacey in fourth and Liis Berendsen in eighth.
Freshman standout Mindy Neeley won the women's long jump with a jump of 19 feet 8.25 inches. Senior Matt Anderson finished third in the men's, jumping 23 feet 7.5 inches.
The men's pole vault was perhaps the most notable event of the day for the Cougars. Reigning national champion Robbie Pratt was unable to reach his entry-level height, leaving opportunity open for BYU freshman Whitney Neves to step up and win his first MWC champion title. Neves jumped 17 feet 4.5 inches for the win and was joined on the medal's stand by teammates Bob Low in third and Matt Weirich in fifth.
All-American Niklas Arrhenius made his first appearance at the Championships late Friday afternoon with a discus-winning throw of 189 feet 7 inches. Arrhenius will return for Saturday's shot put competition.
Senior Josh McAdams earned his second title in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:07.45. Chandler Goodwin backed him up with a second-place finish and a time of 9:14.20. Derek Taylor also scored points with his sixth-place finish.
Another senior, Rena Chesser, won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. She crossed the line with a time of 10:53.53. Three women also scored points in the event with Amy Fowler in fourth, Kristy Barrus in sixth and Sarah Ingebretsen in eighth.
Cross country All-American Chelsea McKell took the women's field in stride, winning the 10,000 meters nearly two laps ahead of the competition with a MWC Championship meet record of 35:01.98. Teammate Lisa Frischnecht was second to cross the line with a time of 37:46.68. Also scoring for the team was Jenna Taylor in fifth and Jocelyn Gardner in sixth.
The men's 10,000 meters was completed with Nick McCombs finishing third with a time of 32:02.43.
Additionally, several athletes qualified for finals in the track events. Ben Gardner and Chris Carter won their heats in the 400-meter hurdles. Gardner, last year's champion in the event, has the top time with 51.10. Jacob Garlick took second in his heat and also qualified for Saturday's finals. Nicole Nevitt qualified for finals in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 61.10.
Garlick finished first in his heat in the 110-meter hurdles to qualify with the top time of 14.29. He will be joined in the finals by teammate Gardner, Carter and Nate Rencher.
Paul Smith qualified in the 100 (10.68) and 200 meters (20.67) for finals. That time in the 200 meters is a personal best for Smith and puts him with the second-best time for tomorrow's finals.
Challis Firl and Michelle Lindsay each took first in their heats of the women's 800 meters. Firl has the top time with 2:12.74 and Lindsay is qualified with a time of 2:15.06. Distance runners Kyle Perry and Jacob Gustafsson also qualified for Saturday in the men's 800 meters. Perry has the third-best time going into the finals with 1:51.57.
The competition will continue, beginning with the women's pole vault at 10 a.m. Saturday. For more information about the Championships, visit www.byucougars.com and www.byutrack.com.