WALNUT, California – Junior Nachelle Mackie ran the fastest time of her career in the 800 meters to lead the BYU women’s track and field team at the 54th annual Mt. SAC Relays.

Mackie finished in 2:01.11, her personal best time by nearly two seconds. In a heat comprised of seven professional athletes and no other collegians, Mackie finished second and was closing on the leader on the final straightaway.

“Nachelle Mackie’s performance in the 800m was the highlight of the meet for us,” head coach Patrick Shane said. “She ran against professionals and several Olympians and ran the best race of her career. I think she has the potential to beat the school record that has stood since 1987.”

Also competing in the 800m at Mt. SAC was All-American Lacey Bleazard. In only her second race of the season, Bleazard, finished sixth in the Olympic Development heat in 2:06.38.

Senior Sarah Edwards competed in the open section of the 800m and finished 32nd in 2:09.25. She also finished 24th in the 1500m in 4:23.79.

In the distance events, the Cougars were represented by Michaelanne Laurent, who finished 15th in the 5000m in 16:24.79.

While the distance runners competed at Mt. SAC, several BYU sprinters and field athletes performed at the Mark Faldmo Invitational at Utah State. Aubrey Hale led the way with a season best time of 11.86 in a victory in the 100m.

Kassie Jensen ran alongside Hale in the 100m and finished second in 11.92. Jensen narrowly beat Hale in the 200m and finished second in 24.56, while Hale crossed the line in third in 24.58.

BYU also picked up a win in the 100m hurdles. Senior Fatima Makakala won the event in 13.96, while Brooke Jensen finished second in 14.53 and senior Diane Stewart crossed in third in 14.60.

The team of Danielle Figgins, Hale, Jensen and Makakala won the 4x100m in a season best time of 45.86.

In the field, Elizabeth Wilson was the lone Cougar to win an event. Wilson set a career best in the triple jump with a leap of 12.01m (39-5.00) to secure the victory.

Freshman Nicole Naatjes tied a career best in the pole vault with a jump of 4.02m (13-2.25) to finish second. Diane McAllister Perry and Rachel Fisher each cleared 3.75m (12-3.50) to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.

Brianna French, a freshman, had the top throws performance on the weekend for BYU with a second-place finish in the discus. French finished with a mark of 43.86m (143-11).

The Cougars will return home to host the annual Robison Invitational on April 27-28.

Final results from the Mt. SAC Relays are available at mtsacrelays.com. 

Final results from the Mark Faldmo Invitational are available at utahstateaggies.com. 

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s and women’s track and field teams will head to California on Thursday, April 19, to compete in the 54th annual Mt. SAC Relays against some of the top competition in the world.

Professional athletes from countries ranging from Italy to Nigeria will be in attendance alongside the best collegiate competitors from across the NCAA. Runners from schools including Arizona, Arizona State, Georgetown, UCLA, USC and Villanova, along with a number of others, will compete at the meet.

Senior Miles Batty will compete for the second time this outdoor season and will represent the Cougars in the 5000-meters. This marks the first time this calendar year that Batty will compete in a race longer than 3000m.

The men’s team will also have a trio of highly-ranked runners compete in the 800m. Justin Hedin and Ryan Waite, both of whom rank in the top-25 nationally in the event, will compete alongside Shaquille Walker, who ranks 61st in the nation.

Other top athletes that will lead the men’s team include Victor Weirich in the pole vault and Cade Lindahl in the 400m.

On the women’s side, Nachelle Mackie will try to top her season-best time of 2:03.02 in the 800m. Mackie will compete in the Olympic Development section of the race alongside seven professional athletes. She will be the only collegian in the section.

Senior Lacey Bleazard will also compete in the 800m with hopes to top her season-best time of 2:07.78 that she ran at UCLA earlier this year.

The Cougars will also put three competitors, Stephanie Jensen Bills, Kathryn Vidmar and Loren Wynn, in the 10000m race for the first time in 2012.

Allyson Anderson, who currently ranks ninth in the NCAA in the javelin, will be the lone field competitor for the women’s team.

The meet kicks off on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT and is scheduled to conclude on Saturday at 7:40 p.m. Live results are available at mtsacrelays.com.