Four event wins, 11 top-three finishes highlight outdoor season debut

PALO ALTO, Calif. – BYU men’s track and field opened its outdoor season on Saturday with event wins in the 400-meter hurdles, 3,000-meter steeplechase, javelin and discus throw at the Cardinal Classic. 

"It was great to get outside in some really good weather and compete," BYU sprints, hurdles and relays coach Kyle Grossarth said. "The athletes took advantage of that and ran well. They have been working really hard, and they came out and executed very well. I'm excited for what is to come this outdoor season."

Spencer Carlile took first in the 400m hurdles among a field of 14 competitors, crossing the line at 51.95. The 2022 NCAA West Preliminary qualifier placed nearly a second ahead of runner-up Shareez Hamm from Academy of Art. Jace Jensen took third with a 53.06 performance.

In his first outdoor collegiate meet, James Corrigan bested all competition in the steeplechase with a time of 9:11.37, beating out two distance athletes from host Stanford. Garrett Stanford, a sophomore from Carlsbad, California, placed second in his first-ever outdoor event at BYU with a 9:16.68 time.

Cameron Bates placed first in the javelin with a 74.9m/245-9 mark. Freshman Brinton Paulson claimed third at 62.98m/206-7 in his debut performance at BYU.

In the discus throw, Dallin Shurts and Danny Bryant stood atop 27 total competitors with marks of 58.61m/192-3 and 52.60m/172-7, respectively. Shurts – currently No. 6 all-time at BYU in the discus – resumes right where he left off after concluding last season ranked No. 10 nationally. Bryant’s throw was a new personal best.

Bryant had a productive day, also registering second in the shot put in a field of 17 (17.79m/58-4.5).

Both relay teams saw success as the 4x100-meter squad of Omar Aburouss, Easton Bianchi, Spencer Carlile and Kyler Haughton placed second at 40.89, just 0.31 seconds behind first-place Cal. The 4x400-meter A squad of Aburouss, Carlile, Treyton Anderson and Jared Davis took third overall in the final race of the day with a 3:10.56 finish.

Ryan Cibart raced a 1:49.48 in the 800-meters to place second-overall as BYU’s lone runner in the event that had 28 racers. The finish also marked the sophomore’s outdoor debut as a Cougar.

The Cougars continue their early stretch of the outdoor season with the Aztec Invitational starting next Thursday in San Diego, Calif.