PROVO, Utah — BYU men's track and field was headlined by the pole vault and sprints position groups as part of the Cougar Invitational at the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.
"All three men, Ethan, Austin, and Aaron have all improved significantly in practice," said pole vault coach Rick McWhorter. "They all actually jumped really well today and got on big poles. We are going to have a great indoor season."
Austin Cox cleared 5.20m/17-0.75 while Ethan Amata cleared 5.10m/16-8.75 for an indoor personal best. Aaron Wood finished the pack clearing 4.80m/15-9.0.
The sprints team showed out with all four Cougars in the 60-meter hurdles advancing to the finals. Coming back from injury, Logan Hubler ran 7.97 across the finish for the fastest time of the day.
"I'm very happy with my performance today," said Hubler. "I’ve been dealing with some injuries that prevented me from competing in our first meet, so for a season opener I saw a lot that I can improve. I’m glad I got the opportunity to compete today and that I have the opportunity to be part of this sprints group."
Eli Hazlett also headlined the sprints group with a first place performance in the men's 400-meter. Hazlett crossed the finish line in 46.95 .
"I felt like we had a solid day all around on the men’s side," said sprints coach Kyle Grossarth. "The 400-meter was particularly strong for us today with Eli Hazlett leading the way. I’m looking forward to getting out on the road on some banked tracks and seeing what we can do."
The distance group was highlighted by freshman Tyler Matthews who finished first in the mile with a 4:09.11 finishing time.
"As a group we shook the rust off after not racing on the track for a long time and saw some great steps in a positive direction," said men's distance assistant coach. "Tyler Mathews continues to impress. He was one of the top recruits in the country, so we knew we had a good one, but his maturity and composure as he has made this jump to college has us really excited. He’ll run his first 800-meter race in college in a few weeks and we think he’s ready to run with the best of them."
Up Next
The Cougars will next compete in New York City in the Dr. Sander Scorcher at the Armory Track & Field Center from Jan. 24-25. See updates here.