May 06 | 03:20 PM
Occidental College

Joseph Hovey | Posted: 6 May 2023 | Updated: 22 May 2023
Joseph Hovey

Halladay-Lowry clocks program's second-best steeplechase time at Sound Running

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Lexy Halladay-Lowry competes at 2022 nationals.

LOS ANGELES — No. 12 BYU women’s track and field rolled up 10 personal records and three program top-10 marks in a fruitful evening of competition at the Sound Running Track Fest and Oxy Invitational on Saturday.

Sound Running Track Fest* | Walnut, California | Hilmer Lodge Stadium

*Results do not count toward NCAA qualification. 

Lexy Halladay-Lowry shot from sixth to second on the program’s 3,000-meter steeplechase top-10 board on Saturday night. The junior from Boise, Idaho clocked 9:42.12, shaving over seven seconds off her previous best, while finishing fifth. Only defending national champion and former teammate Courtney Wayment now stands in Halladay-Lowry’s way of the school record.

Sadie Sargent took 10th in the steeplechase with a personal-best 10:03.93. Halladay-Lowry and Sargent faced Wayment, now of On Running, in the race. Wayment took second at 9:24.39. Former Polish Olympian Alicja Konieczek was also among the professional runners on the track.

Aubrey Frentheway sheared nearly eight seconds off her previous best with a time of 15:40.99 in the 5,000-meters. The senior from Cheyenne, Wyoming now ranks No. 5 all-time at BYU having surpassed Whitney McDonald (2007). Frentheway finished 11th in the event while facing professional runners such as Lea Meyer and Erin Teschuk of New Balance. Both are former Olympians, with Meyer competing for Germany in 2020 and Teschuk for Canada in 2016.

Riley Chamberlain continued her breakout freshman campaign with a personal-best 4:13.07 and first-place finish in Section Three of the women’s 1,500-meters. With her performance on Saturday, Chamberlain debuts at No. 8 on the program’s 1,500m top-10 board.

Sophomore Carmen Alder took second at 4:14.94 and freshman Taylor Rohatinsky seventh at 4:29.56.

Claire Seymour finished off the night in the 800-meters and nearly broke her own school record. Seymour ran 2:00.81 to finish second only to 2016 Ugandan Olympian Halimah Nakaayi of Nike. Seymour beat several other professionals in the 800 including Aaliyah Miller of On along with Dani Jones and Addy Townsend of New Balance.

Oxy Invitational | Los Angeles, California | Bill Henry Track

Alissa Fielding, Jacey Farmer and Heather Hanson crossed the 1,500m finish in a convoy, taking second, third and fourth places, respectively. Fielding clocked 4:17.62 to register a personal best and move into regional qualifying position at 34th in the NCAA West, passing Emilie Girard of No. 4 Oregon.

Farmer improved her personal-best by nearly nine seconds with a time of 4:18.48. The freshman from San Diego, California also moved herself into regional qualifying position, passing Utah’s Erin Vringer for 41st.

Madi Moffitt, Meghan Hunter and Anastaysia Davis reached podium finishes at Oxy as well. Moffitt won the 5,000m at 16:31.72 and Hunter the 800m at 2:06.20 and Davis finished runner-up in the steeplechase with a personal-best 10:47.34.

 

 

 
Joseph Hovey | Posted: 2 May 2023 | Updated: 22 May 2023
Joseph Hovey

Track and Field to compete at Oxy Invitational, Sound Running Track Fest

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Lexy Halladay-Lowry competes at the 2022 NCAA West Preliminary.

PROVO, Utah — With three weeks remaining before the NCAA West Preliminary meet, No. 9/No. 12 BYU men’s and women’s track and field will compete athletes at the Oxy Invitational and Sound Running Track Fest in southern California on Saturday.

Meet Information

Oxy Invitational

Location: Los Angeles, California

Host: Occidental College

Venue: Bill Henry Track

Live Results

Sound Running Track Fest*

Location: Walnut, California

Host: Sound Running

Venue: Hilmer Lodge Stadium

Live Results

Live Stream

*Results do not count toward NCAA qualifying.

Seven BYU athletes are set to face professional and international competition at the Sound Running Track Fest on Saturday. Claire Seymour will compete in the 800-meters while Taylor Rohatinsky, Riley Chamberlain and Carmen Alder will run in Section Three of the 1500.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry will star in the steeplechase and face former BYU teammate Courtney Wayment (now of On Running) along with fifth-ranked Ceili McCabe of West Virginia. Ugandan Olympian Halimah Nakaayi is also featured in the steeplechase field.

Jenna Hutchins and Aubrey Frentheway will feature in the 5000-meters and face three Olympians in Erin Teschuk of Canada, Portugal’s Marta Freitas and Lea Meyer of Germany.

Kenneth Rooks also faces a trio of Olympians in the men’s steeplechase. Rooks will run against American Olympians Benard Keter and Hillary Bor along with Ben Buckingham of Australia.

National Rankings

BYU boasts 10 top-10 nationally ranked athletes across eight different events.

Seymour leads the pack, ranking second in the women’s 800-meters behind only Michaela Rose of No. 6 LSU. Seymour reached Division I’s second-leading spot with a school-record time of 2:00.04 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 14. The senior from Modesto, California looks to become the program’s first ever woman to break the two-minute barrier in the mid-distance event.

Women's 800-meter Rankings
Ranking Name Team Time
1. Michaela Rose No. 6 LSU 1:59.08
2. Claire Seymour No. 12 BYU 2:00.04
3.  Valery Tobias No. 1 Texas 2:00.31
4. Imogan Barrett No. 2 Florida 2:00.96
5. Juliette Whittaker No. 17 Stanford 2:01.79

Cierra Tidwell Allphin ranks third nationally in the women’s high jump after clearing 1.88-meters/6-2 at Mt. SAC Relays on April 15. The junior from Gilbert, Arizona is now just a half-inch shy of tying Andrea Stapleton-Johnson’s school record clearance set in 2019.

Women's High Jump Rankings
Ranking Name Team Mark
1.  Lamara Distin No. 7 Texas A&M 1.95m/6-4.75
2. Elena Kulichenko No. 8 Georgia 1.90m/6-2.75
3.  Cierra Tidwell Allphin No. 12 BYU 1.88m/6-2
4.  Jenna Rogers No. 11 Nebraska 1.86m/6-1.25
  Rylee Anderson Kansas 1.86m/6-1.25
  Morgan Smalls No. 6 LSU 1.86m/6-1.25

Rooks stands at fifth nationally in the men’s steeplechase after running a season-best 8:31.81 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 13. The junior from Walla Walla, Washington remains in the hunt for the school steeplechase record after he clocked 8:22.56 at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Three-time Olympian and former BYU great Henry Marsh holds the record of 8:21.60 set in 1977.

Men's Steeplechase Rankings
Ranking Name Team Time
1.  Duncan Hamilton Montana State 8:25.17
2.  Matthew Wilkinson No. 22 Minnesota 8:29.35
3.  Ed Trippas No. 10 Washington 8:31.40
4.  Victor Shitsama Oklahoma State 8:31.50
5. Kenneth Rooks No. 9 BYU 8:31.83