PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field will be dividing and conquering at four different meets in three different states this weekend in pursuit of even more regional and national qualifying marks.
Athletes will be competing in the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, at the Stanford Invitational in California, the San Francisco State Distance Carnival and at the UVU Invitational in Orem, Utah.
“I think things are rolling along really well. We continue to qualify more and more people with each passing week. I think this should be a big week for us,” BYU track and field head coach Ed Eyestone said. “The continued push is to get more and more people to qualify for regionals. We have some people that got the marks this last week that we believe are going to be sufficient for regionals. Between the three competitions we are looking for big things from our athletes.”
A number of distance runners will be making their outdoor season debuts at the Stanford Invitational. It is the first of three large meets that BYU distance runners look forward to each year. Eyestone hopes most of them will return with qualifying marks for regionals.
“Stanford is a big deal because it marks the first opportunity that our true distance athletes have to compete. Many of them haven’t competed since cross country season last year. They’ve been working on getting in good shape and ready to roll. We hope they can get some good marks out of the way.”
Male athletes to watch include Jonathon Harper and Connor McMillan in the 10,000 meters at Stanford. Shaquille Walker (400 meters) and Chase Horrocks (1500 meters) will be standout male athletes also competing.
Tatenda Tsumba (100-meter dash), Mark Carlson (400 meter hurdles), Tyler Crofts (3000-meter steeplechase), Aaron Fletcher (3000-meter steeplechase), Jake Jarvis (pole vault), Jameson Shirley (pole vault), Kevin Nielsen (decathlon) and Jackson Walker (decathlon) are some of the athletes to watch at the Texas Relays.
On the women’s side, athletes to watch include Lauren Ellsworth (800 meters) and Ashleigh Warner (3000-meter steeplechase) who will be competing at the Stanford Invitational. Nicole Naajtes, Sierra Hansen and Anginae Monteverde will all be competing in the pole vault at the Texas Relays.
A few athletes will also be headed to San Francisco State University to compete in some of the long distance events at the SF State Distance Carnival. Yesenia Silva (10,000 meters) and Natalie Shields-Connolly (5,000 meters) will be top women athletes to watch.
Follow live results on the BYU women's track and field schedule page.