Cougars to Compete in Seattle, Lubbock

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PROVO, Utah – The BYU track and field teams will split up to participate in two meets this weekend. One squad will compete Feb. 12-13, at the UW Preview while another group will be at the Texas Tech Shootout those same days.

The UW Preview will take place at the Dempsey Indoor Track Arena in Seattle, Washington, and will feature members of the men’s and women’s distance squads. The group competing at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, Texas, is a combination of sprinters and a handful of field athletes.

UW Preview

Texas Tech Shootout

Both the BYU men’s and women’s track and field teams are currently ranked in the top 20 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s national polls. The women’s squad is rated No. 9 while the men’s team is No. 18.

A number of Cougars also rank in the top 25 in their respective events. Zach McWhorter is currently No. 2 in the NCAA after clearing 5.76m/18-10.75 to break the school record at the BYU Cougar Indoor Invite last week. In the men’s 3000m, Conner Mantz is No. 3 nationally (7:58.03) and Aidan Troutner is No. 15 (8:10.19).

The women’s distance medley relay squad still holds the fastest time this season with 11:03.62. Courtney Wayment (4:35.80) and Olivia Hoj (4:37.77), members of the DMR team, also rank No. 2 and No. 4 in the women’s mile, respectively. The Cougars have three other runners in the top 20 of the women's mile with Kate Hunter at 12th (4:41.18), Simone Plourde at 14th (4:42.00) and Heather Hanson at 17th (4:42.85).

Halley Folsom is No. 11 in the pentathlon with a score of 3,864 while Caleb Witsken (5,423) and Dallin Vorkink (5,375) are No. 13 and No. 16, respectively, in the heptathlon. Witsken is also among the top pole vaulters in the nation this season with the 14th-best mark so far (5.30m/17-4.5).

Claire Seymour is No. 16 in the women’s 800 with a time of 2:07.15 and Aubrey Frentheway is 19th in the 3000m with a time of 9:36.20. In the women’s high jump, Cierra Tidwell ranks 23rd in the nation with a height of 1.77m/5-9.75.

In sprints, Jaslyn Gardner is No. 16 in the women’s 60m after clocking 7.31 earlier this season while Easton Bianchi ran a 6.68 this past weekend to move up to No. 19 in the men’s 60m.