Distance shines at Washington, indoor home meet concludes

PROVO, Utah  – No. 25 BYU men’s track and field concluded its final indoor home meet and competition at Washington as Lucas Bons took second overall in the mile while the 4x400-meter relay nearly broke its own school record set two weeks ago.

Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational (Washington)

Bons, the second-fastest Cougar in the mile in program history (3:55.45), took second overall in the event today at Washington, running 3:57.11. That time would put him at No. 4 all-time if he didn’t already rank second in school history. Kenneth Rooks, currently No. 7 all-time at BYU in the event, crossed the line at 4:06.94.

“We had some great performances this weekend that will set us up well for the NCAA championships in a couple of weeks,” BYU assistant distance coach Ryan Waite said. “Those that wrapped up their indoor seasons this weekend should be well-prepared to have great outdoor seasons.”

The 4x400m relay that set a new school-record two weeks ago in Lubbock nearly beat the record again. The squad – Trey Jackson, Spencer Carlile, Eli Hazlett and Josh Taylor – took third overall behind USC and UCLA with a 3:06.12 time, just 0.39 seconds behind the BYU record of 3:05.73.

The Cougars had three entries in the 400-meters: Taylor, Jackson and Jace Jensen. Taylor led the way, placing fourth with a time of 46.87. The finish was good for second in his heat, just 0.06 seconds behind No. 13 Ashton Allen of USC. Jackson came in seventh with a 46.98 time. Jensen took third in his heat at 48.09. In all, the race included four top-25 ranked 400m athletes, a list that includes Taylor at No. 25.

Luke Grundvig, Jacob Stanford and Garrett Stanford each posted new personal-bests in the 3,000-meters as Grundvig led the way for BYU with a 7:58.19 mark and eighth overall. The sophomore’s performance surpassed his last personal record by nearly 10 seconds. Weber State transfer Christian Allen finished next for the Cougars, crossing the line at 7:59.38. The race included Stanford’s 20th-ranked Ky Robinson and reigning cross country individual champion Charles Hicks.

BYU Indoor Invitational III

Pole vaulter Caleb Witsken, the Cougars’ highest nationally-ranked individual athlete in his event (No. 5), was back in action at the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. He posted a clearance of 5.50m/18-0.5. 

For the three remaining heptathlon events – 60-meter hurdles, 1,000-meters and pole vault – Ben Barton placed first in the 1000m (2:47.25) while Dallin Vorkink won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.70m/15-5. Barton finished atop the overall heptathlon score at 4,889 points.

The Cougars now turn their full attention to indoor nationals, with no meet next week before nationals begin in Albuquerque, N.M. on Friday, March 10.