Cougars Fare Well at Air Force Open

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The BYU men's and women's track teams finished with eight top three finishes at the Air Force Open in their final tune-up before next week's Mountain West Conference Championships.

Jeff Hansen bettered his mark in the pole vault for the second straight week, clearing a height of 17-05.75 (5.33) for a second-place finish in the vault.

Aron Szmuda also had a good meet, finishing second in the triple jump with a leap of 46-06.25 (14.18) and taking third in the long jump with a jump of 24-00.75 (7.33) to round out the top three finishers on the men's side.

The lone event title for the Cougars came from Candace Clifford in the high jump. Clifford cleared a height of 5-10.00 (1.78) to knock off teammate Lindsey Steele, who took second with a leap of 5-07.00 (1.70).

In the 400-meter dash, freshman Jennifer Rockwell finished in 56.25 seconds to take third for BYU. Bonnie Jacobs also had a third-place finish for the Cougars, clearing a height of 11-11.75 (3.65) in the pole vault.

The final top three finish for BYU came in the shot put, where senior Becky Beachler had a toss of 45-10.00 (13.97) to finish third.

Both the men's and women's teams will now set their sights on winning their third consecutive Mountain West Conference indoor track titles next weekend.

For complete results from the Air Force Open, visit http://airforcesports.fansonly.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/021602aaa.html.