Distance Athletes Finish Strong in Stanford

PALO ALTO -- The Cougar distance squads stood out among thousands of the top track and field athletes in the world at the Stanford Invitational over the weekend.

"It was a very good meet and we looked good in all our events," Coach Ed Eyestone said. "It's just upward and onward from here."

The powerhouse event for the men in Cougar blue proved to be the crowd-pleasing 3,000-meter steeplechase, with three athletes qualifying for regionals in the event. Steeplechase All-American Josh McAdams won the event with a time of 8:38.47. McAdams currently has the second-fastest time in BYU history in the steeplechase in his personal-best of 8:34.84.

"I definitely had something left to give at the end and so I went for the win and no one went with me," McAdams said. "I felt really good about the race."

Teammates Chandler Goodwin and Kyle Perry also qualified, clocking in at 8:52.38 and 8:56.40, respectively. This was Perry's first attempt at the event.

The women's distance athletes also had a good showing in The Golden State. Michelle Lindsay won the 1,500 meters with a regionally-qualifying time of 4:27.59, crossing the line .01 seconds ahead of her opponent. Rena Chesser was just behind in third with a time of 4:28.32. Fellow runner Kristy Barrus had a ninth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:52.99.

The 10,000 meters brought top Mountain West Conference times for the women, with Jocelyn Gardner finishing with a solid time of 36:20.55 and sophomore Lisa Frischknecht following just behind with a time of 36:20.55.

"We're really pleased with the way our athletes performed," said Coach Patrick Shane. "We're hoping to use several of them in next week's meet and get some good things from them."

The BYU track and field teams will return to California next week for competition. For more information about the BYU track and field teams, visit www.byucougars.com or www.byutrack.com.