Cougars set to host last meet of regular season

PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field will host the final meet of the regular season, the BYU Cougar Invitational, at home at the Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex, May 9-10. A majority of the team will also travel to the Oxy Invitational to compete on Saturday, May 11.

“The BYU Cougar Invitational is our last chance at home to improve on marks and sharpen up before the first round of the NCAA Championships,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We’re two weeks out from the NCAA West Prelims and it’s important to have a solid competition. The Oxy Invitational will be great prep for the national meet.”

The No. 3/12 Cougars are looking to earn and improve their regional qualifying marks one last time before the NCAA West Prelims on May 23-25. The BYU Cougar Invitational also provides another opportunity for fans and family to see the Cougars compete at home.

Eyestone is looking forward to seeing decathlete Brian Matthews compete this weekend. Matthews scored a season-best 7280 points at the BYU Robison Invitational the last time he competed at home. Matthews hopes to earn above 7400 points to solidify his spot for Nationals. The decathlon squad is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to the USTFCCCA.

“The top-24 make it to Nationals,” Eyestone said. “Since this is conference weekend, there will probably be other decathletes with strong performances, so he’s hoping to score above 7400 points to keep his spot in the top-24 and compete at Nationals.”

At the BYU Cougar Invitational, the BYU men’s team plans to assemble a strong 4x100m relay team to earn a regional-qualifying mark. The team will consist of Andrew Stuart, Michael Bluth, Abram Schaap and Derek Sorensen.

“On the men’s side, we’re going to try and get the 4x100m qualified,” Eyestone said. "The other relay teams have qualified, so this is an important race for the squad.”

Javelin throwers Michael Whittaker and Kraymer Eppich are on the bubble and hope to position themselves to potentially qualify for the 2019 NCAA West Prelims.

Several athletes will travel to the Oxy Invitational after the BYU Cougar Invitational to join the rest of the team competing in California.

Eyestone noted that freshman Brandon Garnica hopes to get a regional-qualifying time in the 5000m. Danny Carney will also be running in the 5000m – his first race since the Stanford Invitational earlier this season.

The Oxy Invitational also provides one more opportunity for senior Madey Dickson to compete in the 1500m. Last weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational, Dickson earned a season-best 4:26.27.

Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter for team updates. Live stats can be found on runnercard.com and a schedule of events can be found here.