SOUTH BEND, Ind. – BYU men's track and field ran 9:20.72 for a new school record in the distance medley relay on Saturday.
Alex Wilson Invitational Full Results
The unique distance event is composed of four different legs of a relay: 1200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1600-meter. This year's group is composed of Carter Cutting, Josh Taylor, Tyler Mathews and Lucas Bons.
"Whenever you get that baton around the track in a school record time you know you have had a great day," said BYU director of track and field Ed Eyestone. "Cutting got things going with a great lead off leg in the 1200-meter, Taylor built on that momentum with a dominant 400-meter leg and freshman Matthews continued his 800-meter excellence splitting 1:45.9. Bons kept the pace honest doing some good work in the lead and bringing the baton home in a new school record. It was an outstanding team performance!"
The breakdown of splits included a 2:52 performance by Cutting in the 1200m, 45 second 400m from Taylor, 1:45 800m leg from Mathews and 3:57 split from Bons in the 1600m.
Taylor and Mathews have recorded back-to-back weeks with multiple school record performances. After the Don Kirby Invitational last week, Taylor now holds the individual 400m record and has been on the 4x400m and DMR teams that also secured program records. Mathews holds the 800m record in addition to the DMR record Saturday afternoon.
Other notable outings from the Cougars included Sebastian Fernandez and Taylor in their respective individual events. Fernandez clocked 1:49.72 in the 800m while Taylor recorded 46.28 in the 400m.
Additional Quotes
Ryan Waite – Men's Distance Assistant Coach
"That school record time should get us to the NCAA meet. Once there, we feel like this group has a great chance to do something special."
Tyler Mathews – Men's Mid-Distance
"It was an incredible experience to run with that squad and we came away with a school record and a pretty good shot at nationals. It was really fun to be a part of that and I’m excited to see what we can do in the future."
Josh Taylor – Men's Sprints
"Just like any other sport, momentum is key. I'm grateful to have had this positive momentum carrying from one race to another. A lot of that momentum has come from the two incredible relay teams that I've been a part of. I'm lucky my event gets to compete in a team setting like that."
Up Next
The Cougars will compete in the 2024 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday-Saturday, February 28-March 1 with Texas Tech set to host.