SEATTLE -- Despite being split between two meets, the BYU track and field teams continued to prove their strength by landing several first-place finishes and personal records this weekend at the Bronco and Washington Invitationals.

“We had a good meet,” said BYU men’s track and field head coach Mark Robison. “There was really good competition here in Washington and no one was hurt. I’m very pleased and I’m excited for us to just go and get ready for New York this upcoming week.”

Representing the sprinters, freshman Ryan Atrice placed second overall in the 400-meter dash, barely beating out his personal record of 48:15 to a new time of 48:14.

Stepping it up for the distance runners with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 3000-meter run was sophomore Brandon Hebbert with a time of 8:04.23.

Tying for first place in the pole vault, Robert Low cleared a height of 17 feet 7 inches, while junior Leif Arrhenius was beat out in the shot put by only one centimeter with a distance of 18.21m (59 feet 9 inches).

Oliver Whaley tallied a first-place finish for the Cougars in the weight throw with a distance of 58 feet 7.5 inches.

While the Washington Invitational was the stronger meet for the men’s team, Boise proved to be phenomenal for the women’s team finishing up in day two.

”We had some very solid performances today,” said women’s pole vault coach Erik Rasumssen. “Everyone competed at a high level and several athletes came away with PR’s.”

After the women’s relay team received an automatic placement for nationals, the women’s team looked forward to the following events for further BYU recognition.

Concluding the Bronco Invitational, Ashley Sheppard and Kari Clark dominated in the pole vault taking both first and second places for BYU, clearing heights of 12 feet 8 inches (Clark) and 12 feet 4 inches (Sheppard). The scores were new personal bests for both athletes.

Proving to be a successful day in the field events, Madara Dzalbe placed second in the triple jump with a distance of 38 feet 9.25 inches while junior Tara Anderson placed fourth in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet 8.25 inches.

The Cougars will continue their road dominance as they head to New York and Pocatello to compete in the New Balance and ISU Invitationals next weekend.

For complete results for the Bronco and Washington Invitationals go to www.trackshark.com.

CLICK HERE for day one recap.

PROVO -- Entering midseason the BYU track teams look to continue their regional and national success this Friday and Saturday at the Bronco Invitational and UW Invitational.

The Cougars, who currently own 10 top 10 individual national rankings will be competing this weekend in two separate meets including the Bronco Invitational in Nampa, Idaho and the UW Invitational in Seattle.

“This is going to be another great opportunity for our team,” said BYU women’s track and field head coach Craig Poole. “We’re going to try and get more national qualifying marks and gain valuable experience.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams have already earned five NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Amy Menlove ranks No. 1 in the nation in the pentathlon and Bob Low ranks No. 2 in the nation in the pole vault.

Menlove, Low and the Cougars will face strong competition this weekend at the UW Invitational with a field that includes Arkansas, Cal, Cal St. Northridge, Colorado, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Oral Roberts, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, San Francisco, SMU, Stanford, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, USC and the Washington.

"This is our second hardest meet this season," said BYU men's track and field head coach Mark Robison. "The distance competition will be incredible for our team and really give us a great opportunity to improve our marks before conference.”

The UW Invitational will begin Friday at 3:00 p.m. PST with the women’s pentathlon. The Bronco Invitational will begin Friday at 6:00 p.m. MST with the men’s pole vault. Final results for both meets can be found on trackshark.com.