Men’s track & field season preview

In its first season under head coach Ed Eyestone, BYU men’s track & field will look to build off of last year's success in the upcoming 2014 season.

“I have really high expectations,” Eyestone said. “This year we can establish what BYU track & field is all about. We want to get as many qualifiers as we can to regionals and nationals, and once we get there, we need to perform well.”

This will be the first season with Eyestone at the helm of the recently combined men’s and women’s team. Eyestone was previously an assistant track & field coach and head coach of the men’s cross country team.

“We will have a little different dynamic now that we are combined,” Eyestone said. “I think it is really a positive change.”

The Cougars return three All-Americans in Jared Ward, Tylor Thatcher and Curtis Carr. Ward finished eighth in the 10,000 meters to earn first-team honors. He was also awarded the male Curtis Pugsley Athlete of the Year for 2013. Thatcher was named second-team All-American for his 14th place finish in the 10,000 meters. Carr earned first-team honors with for finishing in fourth-place in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Chase Dalton and Isaac Robison are returning, both of which hold spots on the all-time top-10 board for the heptathlon at BYU. Keith Keller, sixth all-time at BYU in the javelin, is also back. In addition, BYU returns several regional qualifiers from last year’s team.

Schedule

The Cougars will start the season at home Jan. 10-11 with the BYU Invitational, their only home meet of the indoor season. BYU then travels every weekend, including trips to the New Mexico Invitational Jan. 18, Air Force Invitational Jan. 24-25 and Feb. 14-15, as well as the Washington Invitational Jan. 31-Feb.1 and Feb. 14-15. The indoor season ends with the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships in Seattle, Wash., Feb. 28- March 1 and the NCAA Indoor Championships March 14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M.

The outdoor season includes trips to the Texas Relays March 27-29, the Stanford Invitational April 4-5 and the Mt. Sac Relays April 18-19 before returning home to host the BYU Invitational April 25-26. The season comes to a close with the NCAA Regional Meet in Fayetteville, Ark., May 29-31 and the NCAA Championships June 11-14 in Eugene, Oreg.

A full schedule can be found here.