NEW YORK CITY-With an unbelievable time of 3:54.54, Miles Batty broke the indoor collegiate mile record by almost half a second on Saturday night at the 2012 Millrose Games, which took place at the Armory Track & Field facilities in New York City.

"I was really happy to get the record," Batty said. "It's been a big goal of mine for quite awhile.  I wasn't in the best position for the first half of the race and was boxed in against the rail, but I just had to be patient and make passes when things opened up. I probably wasted a lot of energy fighting for position, so I would have liked to have gone a bit faster, but I was happy with the race."

Batty, a senior from Sandy, Utah, was invited to participate in the 2012 Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games with the intentions of breaking the indoor mile collegiate record of 3:55.02, set by German Fernandez of Oklahoma State in 2009.  Six collegiate runners were invited to participate in the race, along with other professional runners.

Batty took second in the race, finishing behind Matthew Centrowitz, a professional runner sponsored by Nike, who broke the Armory record with a time of 3:53.92. 

With the fastest time in the nation, Batty is now qualified for the Indoor National Championships which will be held in Nampa, Idaho, March 8-10, where he looks to defend his title in the mile and his joint title in the DMR.

While Batty was breaking records in New York, the rest of the BYU men’s track and field team was split between the Husky Classic in Washington and the Air Force Invitational in Colorado.

“We didn’t do quite as well as we hoped this weekend, but we still had some good performances,” men’s head coach Mark Robison said. “We look forward to the week off and then it’s all about preparing for the MPSF championships.”

In Washington, the distance runners were able to run against good competition, and some pulled away with top ten finishes. 

Rex Shields finished seventh and ran a personal best in 3000m Invite, with a time of 7:53.69, while Alden Bahr pulled away with a first place finish in the 5000m, finishing in 13:58.72.

In the 200m, Jason Hinds and Fanfan Charles finished top ten, with Hinds finishing third, in 21.84, and Charles taking tenth, posting 22.17.

James McAllister finished seventh in the 400m Invite, finishing in 48.48, and Shaquille Walker secured second place in the 800m, matching his fastest time of 1:51.05.

At the Air Force Invitational, the field events dominated. 

Brayden Bringhurst and Tyler Brown took third and seventh in the pole vault, clearing 5.10m (16-08.75) and 4.90m (16-00.75) respectively.

BYU also had two top-ten finishers in the high jump, with Dakoda John taking third with a jump of 2.05m (6-08.75) and Russell Nielson finishing ninth, clearing 2.00m (6-06.75).

Kevin Nielsen finished seventh in the long jump, posting 6.94m (22-09.25), the furthest distance of any BYU long jumper this season, and Kyle Mills also finished seventh in the triple jump, with a jump of 14.62m (47-11.75).

The Cougars will not compete again until the MPSF championships on February 24-25. It will mark the first time the BYU has competed in the MPSF championships after 12 seasons in the Mountain West Conference. 

CLICK HERE to watch Batty's record breaking race. 

PROVO, Utah—For the second time this season, the BYU track and field teams will split their squads over the weekend, sending the short distance runners and field athletes to the Air Force Invitational, while the distance runners will participate in the Flotrack Husky Classic.

“There is kind of a sense of urgency because for a lot of our athletes this could be their last indoor meet,” men’s head coach Mark Robison said. “If they don’t do well here, than they won’t qualify for nationals, so it’s an important weekend for the kids.”

BYU will see familiar competition at the Air Force Invitational, as some teams from the Mountain West Conference will be in attendance including Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming.  Other participating schools include Colorado, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Adams State and Colorado Mesa.

BYU will be the only Division I ranked team in attendance and for the first time, the Air Force Invitational will be a non-scoring meet. 

The Flotrack Husky Classic has become a centerpiece for the NCAA indoor track season and an event that is often home to many of the fastest times of the year.

The women’s team is looking to improve upon their No. 7 national ranking this weekend.  They will be competing against eight other ranked teams, including No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Clemson and No. 10 Arizona.

The men’s competition will also be fierce, as they compete against No. 2 Florida, No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Minnesota.

Both the Husky Classic and the Air Force Invitational are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.  Results from both meets will be posted following the conclusion of the events.