SEATTLE - The BYU women's distance medley relay squad of Carmen Alder, Meghan Hunter, Tessa Buswell and Riley Chamberlain broke the event's all-time NCAA record Friday afternoon at Dempsey Indoor.
Alder clocked 3:16 for her opening 1200-meter leg, Hunter ran 52 seconds for her 400m leg, Buswell ran 2:04 in the 800m and anchor Chamberlain closed out the 1600m in 4:24 for an NCAA record DMR time of 10:37.58.
"I am really pleased with my group," said BYU Associate Director of Track & Field Diljeet Taylor. "You can do something special in the DMR if you have really good bookends. But, to do something magical in the DMR, you need all four to be hitting it and they did that today."
The squad's time breaks the previous BYU program record by over seven seconds and is nearly 14 seconds faster than that posted by BYU's 2024 national championship squad.
"We are constantly trying to push ourselves and our teammates to get better," said anchor Chamberlain. "We are setting new standards and racing ourselves to improve each year."
Jenna Hutchins won the 5000m in a season-best time of 15:31.41. The junior was just a half of a second off of her personal best in the event and is currently No. 15 in the NCAA this season.
Vanessa Alder and Lizzie Dildine each recorded personal bests in the 3000m with times of 9:21.58 and 9:31.81, respectively. Freshman cross country standout Nelah Roberts ran her debut 3000m in 9:39.56.
Gretchen Hoekstre led the throws group in Washington with a fourth place finish in the weight throw. The senior threw 17.46m/58-6 and will compete again for the shot put Saturday.
Don Kirby Elite Invitational
Don Kirby Elive Invitational Day One Results
Sami Oblad ran a lifetime best in the 200m, clocking 23.72 to place fourth in the unseeded sections. The senior's time stands at No. 3 in the BYU indoor record books. Oblad will compete in the 400m Saturday afternoon.
Paje Rasmussen also earned a lifetime best in the 200m as she recorded 24.14 and the Cougars' No. 9 all-time mark. The sophomore placed 15th overall in the unseeded sections and will run the 60m Saturday morning.
Freshman Cortnie Barker placed fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.72m/5-7.75 as teammate Summer Young placed eighth with a 1.67m/5-5.75 clearance.
Other top performances include Emily Ellis-Dalley's indoor personal best in the 400m with a time of 55.32 for 12th place and Maddie Passmore's 5.83m/19-1.5 leap in the long jump for 14th place.
Up Next
BYU track and field will compete for day two of the Husky Classic and Don Kirby Elite Invitational Saturday.