BYU’s DMR teams highlight day one of Columbia Challenge

NEW YORK – The BYU men’s distance medley relay team clocked the second-best time in the country this season on day one of the Columbia Challenge at The Armory Track.

The DMR team ran a 9:36.13 to finish in second place behind Oregon (9:31.87). The Cougars’ and the Ducks’ times gave them the current top-two times in the nation.

Senior Marcus Dickson started BYU off with a 2:57.29 in the 1200m leg of the race before handing the baton off to senior Max Scheible, who ran the 400m leg in 47.60. Senior Abraham Alvarado received the baton from Scheible and ran the fastest time out of all the DMR teams in the 800m with a 1:47.64. Junior Rory Linkletter finished off the strong team performance with a 4:03.59 in the 1600m.

BYU's women’s DMR team finished fourth with a time of 11:18.93. Senior Ashleigh Warner started the Cougars off in the 1200m with a time of 3:30.21 before handing the baton off to junior Brenna Porter. Porter ran a 55.15 in the 400m leg of the relay and handed the baton to senior Kristi Rush-Briggs who ran a 2:11.34 in the 800m. Sophomore Whittni Orton anchored the relay with a 4:42.23 in the 1600m leg.

Sophomore Jesus Serrano beat his personal best in the men’s 60m hurdles with a time of 8.10 and a fourth-place finish in the finals. Junior Tomi Adegoke also competed in the finals for the 60m hurdles and ran an 8.29.

Junior Keesha Miller ran a 7.58 in the women’s 60m dash for BYU and senior Nicole Lord ran an 8.87 in the 60m hurdles. Both were just outside qualifying for the finals.

Senior Kevin Nielsen finished sixth in the men’s heptathlon with a score of 4457. Nielsen's 7.09m long jump was the best among heptathletes, and his 4.60m pole vault marked ranked second. 

The Cougars will continue in the Columbia Challenge Saturday, Jan. 27. Follow BYU track and field on twitter @BYUTFXC to stay updated on the action. The schedule and live stats can be found on The Armory's website. RunnerSpace.com and USATF.tv will be streaming a live feed. The meet will be televised on NBCSN on tape delay starting at 5 p.m. EST.