PROVO, Utah -- Participating in one of the most competitive meets of the outdoor season, BYU’s track teams will be heading to the 53rd Annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. on Thursday.
The three-day event features several of the best high school, collegiate and elite competitors in the country. Top 10 men’s teams such as No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 7 USC and No. 9 Texas will be in attendance. On the women’s side, No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 USC, No. 8 Arkansas and No. 9 Arizona highlight a competitive field.
Most of the athletes competing for BYU will be running in middle-distance or distance races. With the school semester coming to a close many student-athletes are working on finals and finishing up classes, thus limiting the number of competitors for the Cougars.
Junior Miles Batty will compete in the Elite division of the 1,500 meters while three more athletes will participate in the Open division of the same race. Senior Nathan Ogden will run in the 5,000 meters in the top-billed Elite race and four more Cougars will run the open section.
On the women’s side, senior Cecily Lemmon-Lew will compete in her first 10000-meter race of the 2011 season. Lew, who sat out the 2010 track season for health reasons, finished second at the 2009 NCAA Championships in the 10000m, earning All-American honors in the event.
Competition at the Mt. SAC Relays will begin on Thursday at 3:30 pm MT with the women’s 3000m steeplechase. Live results will be available at mtsacrelays.com.
A few athletes will also head north to Logan on Saturday to compete in the Mark Faldmo Invitational at Utah State. The meet will begin at 10:00 am MT with the men’s and women’s hammer throw and will conclude at 4:00 pm with the 4x400m relay.