Cougars Have Big Day to Finish Robison Invitational

PROVO -- The BYU men's and women's track teams put on a great show in the final day of the Clarence Robison Invitational, finishing with six more event wins and two more national qualifying marks. The final day performances give the Cougars five national qualifying marks from the meet.

The BYU men had three NCAA qualifying marks at the Robison Invitational, two on the final day, and five event titles on the final day of competition.

"I am ecstatic about how our team did at this meet," BYU men's head coach Mark Robison said. "We had a marvelous meet and were able to improve in just about every event. We always seem to do well in this meet."

The big winner on the day for the BYU men was sprinter Matt Nielsen, who won the 200 in 21.17 seconds and the 400 in 46.26 seconds. Teammate Kish Beverley finished second in the 400 with a time of 46.67 seconds. The men's 4x400 team also won in 3:12.70.

Nielsen was joined in the winner's circle by Aron Szmuda, who added a triple jump crown to his win in the long jump on Friday. Szmuda jumped 551-03.00 (15.62m) to win the triple jump. Jeff Hopkinson and Chad Simkins went one-two for the Cougars in the 800, with Hopkinson edging out Simkins for the win. Both Hopkinson (1:49.47) and Simkins (1:50.39) had personal- best times in the 800.

For the BYU women, Lindsey Steele followed up her win in the open high jump on Friday with another high jump title, this time in the invitational section of the high jump on Saturday. Steele cleared 5-08.00 (1.73m) to beat a number of athletes, including teammate Candace Clifford, who tied for second at a height of 5-06.00 (1.68m).

"We did very well at this meet and we continue to move in the right direction," BYU women's head coach Craig Poole said. "The people we have are dedicated and they work hard. I am proud of our kids and I am pleased with their performances."

The Cougars also sent many of their top distance runners to Palo Alto, Calif. to compete against most of the top distance runners in the country at the Cardinal Invitational.

Kristen Ogden had her first NCAA qualifying mark of the season at Stanford, a provisional mark of 34:32.28 in the 10,000-meter run. Ogden was joined by four more BYU athletes who bettered their national marks at Stanford.

Lindsey Thomsen and Devra Vierkant both bettered there times in the 5,000, with Thomsen finishing in a provisional qualifying time of 16:16.47 and Vierkant posting a provisional NCAA time of 16:16.93. Kassi Andersen had a provisional time of 4:19.90 in the 1,500 and Mao Tjiroze bettered his mark in the 800 with a time of 1:48.29.

For complete results from the Clarence Robison Invitational, go to http://www.byutrack.com.

For results from the Cardinal Invitational, go to http://gostanford.fansonly.com/sports/c-track/stan-c-track-body.html.