TEMPE, Ariz. – Middle distance runners Lauren Ellsworth and Erica Birk-Jarvis headlined the second day of competition for No. 4/24 BYU track and field with NCAA leading times and BYU all-time marks in the 800m and 1500m, respectively, at the Sun Angel Classic on Saturday.
"This meet was a strong continuation from the rest of the season so far," said BYU head coach Ed Eyestone. "It was nice to be down in the warm weather. The warm weather led to some great performances all around. Lauren Ellsworth ended up running the fastest 800m run of the night with a huge PR. Erica Birk-Jarvis followed up Lauren’s exploits to run a strong 1500m. Both had nation leading times. "
Ellsworth clocked a career-best 2:02.49 to take first in the women’s 800m premiere heat. Ellsworth’s performance earned her the fourth-best time in school history and the NCAA leading mark. In the women’s 1500m premiere heat, Birk-Jarvis took first with a career record 4:13.57 and the No. 3 BYU all-time mark. Birk-Jarvis also earned the NCAA leading time in the 1500m.
Several Cougars continued to earn career records throughout the day. In the women’s 400m open, Haley Rogers finished in fourth place with a career-best 55.50. Michael Bluth took first in the men’s 400m open with a BYU-best time of 46.65.
Brenna Porter clocked a 59.05 for a third-place finish in the women’s 400m hurdles open and Kaitlyn Gunnerson-Burrup finished close behind in fifth place with a personal-best 1:00.03. In the men’s 400m hurdles open, Jesus Serrano took seventh with a career-best time of 52.54.
Five other Cougars placed in the top-10 in the women’s 1500m premiere race. Anna Camp took fourth with a time of 4:17.36 for a new PR. Olivia Hoj (4:22.57), Kate Hunter (4:23.36) and Alissa Fielding (4:29.93) finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively. Emma Gee also claimed first in the women’s 1500m open with a personal-best 4:32.50. Whittni Orton also ran a personal-best time of 2:06.96 to finish 11th overall in the 800m premiere.
BYU had a strong performance in the men’s mile premiere heat with three top-5 finishes. Talem Franco placed second with a time of 4:00.91. Marcus Dickson followed in third (4:01.67) and Patrick Parker in fifth (4:02.95).
Jefferson Jarvis threw 18.00m/59-.05 in the men’s shot put premiere and finished fourth overall. True freshman Austin Carter earned a personal-best mark of 46.74m/153-4.0 to take 14th in the men’s discus throw open.
All-American Andrea Stapleton-Johnson finished in second place and cleared six feet with a mark of 1.83m/6-0 in the women's high jump. Kraymer Eppich threw his best mark in the javelin (61.48m/201-8.0) since his redshirt year and placed fifth overall. Elise Romney took first place in the women’s pole vault premiere with a mark of 4.01m/13-1.75.
The Cougars will compete in three different meets next week. The team will compete at the Mark Faldmo Invite, the USCD Triton Invitational and the Utah/Weber State Spring Classic. All meets will go from April 12-13. Details can be found on the BYU track and field schedule page leading up to each meet.