ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – First-place finishes by Shaquille Walker, Tyrell Yardley and Colter Rockwell were among several highlight performances for BYU track and field at the New Mexico Classic Friday and Saturday.  

“It was an excellent meet,” BYU track head coach Ed Eyestone said. “It was a great opportunity for our athletes to get meet experience. We had some personal bests and consistent performances today.”

Walker’s winning time in the 600 meters was 1:17.32. Walker has placed first in every event he’s raced so far this indoor season. 

Yardley’s time of 47.03 was the fifth-fastest 400-meter time in BYU indoor history. Rockwell finished in 1:53.05 to take top honors in the 800 meters.

Zachary Stetler placed second in the shot put throwing 17.60 meters while Zachary Blackham’s mark of 2.09 meters was good for fourth in the high jump.

In the pole vault, Kyle Brown cleared 5.26 meters to set a new career mark. Brown’s mark was second best of all Division I athletes in the event. Craig Merkley’s throw of 16.94 meters in the weight throw was his career best in the event.

On the women’s side, Alyssa Steed placed fourth in the mile running 5:03.23. Steed’s time was second overall among Division I competitors. In her last event on Saturday, Steed set a personal record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:17.02.

Maria Morley’s time of 10:23.51 placed fifth in the 3000 meters. Bryn Rohner was close behind Morley, finishing seventh in 10:27.24. Morley also ran a career-best mile in 5:09.78.

Dailyn Johnson set a new personal record in the weight throw with a mark of 14.87 meters while Anginae Monteverde continued her successful indoor season clearing 4.01 meters in the pole vault.

BYU track and field will be split next weekend with some athletes returning to New Mexico for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational Feb. 13-14, while others will head to Seattle, Washington, for the Husky Classic Feb. 13-14.

PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field hopes to build upon strong performances from last weekend’s meets as they head to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the New Mexico Classic Friday and Saturday.

The Cougars will take sprinters, jumpers and throwers, while the distance runners will take this meet off after running hard last weekend in Seattle.

“This meet is another great opportunity,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “Last week was really the first week where we started to flex our muscles. The men have officially broken in to the top 25 now.”

High marks from Jason Witt in the 5000 meters and Shaquille Walker in the 800 meters have vaulted the men’s team up in the rankings. Eyestone believes athletes will emerge in the coming weeks as potential national qualifiers.

Results for the meet can be found at New Mexico’s athletics website, golobos.com.

Athletes to watch

Shaquille Walker is coming off the fastest indoor 800-meter race in school history last weekend. His time of 1:47.44 is the third fastest in the nation this year. Walker will be running a 600-meter race at this event for the first time this season.

“This will be a good race for him,” Eyestone said. “He has great 400-meter speed, and he has one of the fastest times in the country in the 800 meters and 500 meters.”

2014 NCAA Indoor Championship qualifier Braydon Bringhurst placed third in the pole vault at the Armory Invitational last weekend and will look to improve in his second meet of the season.

Anginae Monteverde also performed well, placing third in the pole vault and setting a personal record. Her mark of 4.15 meters is currently 16th-best in the nation.

“Braydon got things back on track last week with a nice clearance and performance in New York,” Eyestone said. “Anginae can continue to improve even after her awesome personal record last week. We’re looking forward to our entire vault group putting up some higher marks both on the men’s and women’s side.”

Junior thrower Meaghan Heffelfinger is also fresh off a career-best performance in the weight throw.

“Meaghan continues to throw personal records each week in the weight throw, so this meet will be good for her.”