Cougars seize four event wins at Sun Angel Classic

TEMPE, Ariz. – BYU men’s and women’s track and field athletes enjoyed success across multiple events at the Sun Angel Classic on Saturday.

FULL RESULTS

Men's Recap
Colten Yardley clocked a new personal-best 400m hurdle time of 50.01 to win the event over Jamar Marshall Jr. of host No. 11 Arizona State. Yardley’s winning time further cemented him at No. 5 all-time in program history as he surpassed his previous personal-best of 50.04 set a season ago at the NCAA West Preliminary. BYU sprints coach Kyle Grossarth remains one spot ahead of Yardley on the team’s top-10 board with a 49.82 time he set with the Cougars in 2000.

Yardley’s time on Saturday sets him at No. 10 nationally, surpassing Cory Poole of No. 18 North Carolina A&T. Jace Jensen joined Yardley in the 400H, setting a personal record of his own at 52.27 and finishing fourth.

Jensen and Yardley teamed up with Dallin Draper and Landon Maxfield to win the men's 4x400m over Arizona State with a time of 3:05.18. This puts the current BYU "A" squad less than a second behind the 3:04.52 set by the 2021 foursome. 

Cortez Ruiz, Jared Davis, Joshua Taylor and Trey Jackson rans as the Cougars' "B" squad and took third at 3:11.10. 

The Cougars also saw success on the field with two top-5 finishers in the men’s javelin throw. Returning All-American Cameron Bates took third at 68.67m/225-3. Bates owns the program’s all-time best javelin throw at 77.17m/253-2. Teammate Michael Whittaker joined Bates on the top-10 board today with a throw of 67.99m/223-0. Whittaker’s new personal-best was good for No. 6 all-time at BYU, surpassing a throw from Wyatt Warnick in 2016.

Women's Recap
Ashton Riner highlighted five BYU throwers in the top-10 of the javelin throw, winning the event with a mark of 54.58m/179-1. Alex McAllister (4th), Libby Parkinson (5th), Jessica Thompson (7th) and Nicole Freestone (9th) joined Riner with top-10 finishes.

Women's distance runners then placed six Cougars in the top-10 of the 800m, led by Claire Seymour, who's 2:03.70 earned her first place. Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes (2:04.53) finished second, and was followed by Alena Ellsworth (4th, 2:06.64), Meghan Hunter (6th, 2:08.06), Carmen Alder (2:08.78) and Heather Hanson (2:09.66). 

In the shot put, Leah Thompson set a new personal best with a mark of 13.43m/44-0.75. The squad of Meghan Hunter, Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes, Claire Seymour and Alena Ellsworth concluded the night with a second-place finish, clocking a 3:58.88.

The Cougars will be back on the road next week for three California meets: the Bryan Clay Invitational from April 13-15, Mt. Sac Relays from April 14-16 and Beach Invitational from April 15-16.