11 Qualifying Marks for Cougs

Click here for results of the Stanford Invitational

Click here for results of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays

PROVO -- With BYU track and field athletes dotting the United States on Friday, 11 regional qualifying marks were set.

BYU played host to the Cougar Invitational, sent pole vaulters to the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, and sent many of its distance runners to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Cougar Invitational -- Day 3

BYU high jumper Bryce Bergen and discus thrower Leif Arrhenius set regional qualifying marks for the second time so far in this young outdoor season. Bergen matched his 6-foot-10-inch mark he set at the ASU Invitational, and Arrhenius threw six feet shorter than he did at the ASU Invitational but still managed to throw a qualifying mark of 190 feet.

Three of Arrhenius' teammates, Dustin Lawrenson (168-01), Daniel Lawson (157-10) and Clint Prestwich (156-00), finished in the collegiate top five in the discus. Lawson, a sophomore from Moses Lake, Wash., also placed first in the shot put with a toss of 54 feet 6 inches.

In the men's running events, sophomore Kevin Biesinger set a personal best in the 400-meter dash in 47.40 seconds, just .20 seconds from a regional qualifying mark. Freshman Lance Walker finished second in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.86 seconds.

"I was very pleased with the performance of Kevin Biesinger," BYU men's coach Mark Robison said. "It was great to see him set his lifetime best."

On the women's side, BYU freshman Rebecca Lee won the javelin and freshman Deezbaa Whaley finished first among 21 collegiate athletes in the discus. Lee threw the javelin 139 feet 5 inches, and Whaley tossed the discus 150 feet 6 inches.

The BYU women had multiple first-place finishes in the meet. Madara Dzalbe won the triple jump (39-09.75), Mindy Robbins finished first among collegiate runners in the 100-meter hurdles (14.15), Chelsi Petersen came in first among collegiate jumpers in the long jump (19-06.00) and the Cougars' 4x100 relay team won with a time of 46.92 seconds.

Stanford Invitational -- Day 1

Carlee Clark-Platt and Stacy Slight set regional qualifying marks in the 800-meter run. Clark-Platt finished eighth overall with a 2:07.82, and Slight finished in 13th with a time of 2:09.44.

Angela Wagner, a sophomore who competed in her first-ever 3000-meter steeplechase, took the sixth spot with qualifying time of 10:23.64. Senior Tawny Bybee (10:37.21) and junior Amy Fowler-Layne (10:44.95) also qualified for regionals.

"It was a little cool and windy today, but it's nice to have the qualifying out of the way and focus on the meets at the end of the year," said Patrick Shane, the BYU women's distance coach.

For the BYU men, 2007 All-American Chandler Goodwin set a qualifying time of 8:56.07 in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Freshman Curtis Carr won the first section of the 3000-meter steeplechase with a qualifying time of 8:56.56 and sophomore Rich Nelson finished sixth in 9:06.76, also a qualifying time.

All-American Kyle Perry also qualified with a 13:55.81 in the 5000 meters.

Texas Relays

On Thursday, junior Bob Low set a regional qualifying mark of 17 feet 6.5 inches to win the B section of the pole vault at the Texas Relays. Low won the event by 6.5 inches and joined BYU junior pole vaulter Whitney Neeves who already set the same qualifying mark at the ASU Invitational on Mar. 29. There is a chance Low will be able to compete in the A section on Saturday since he won the B section on Thursday.

BYU freshman Chris Little also set a regional qualifying mark in the pole vault to finish tied for eighth, clearing 16 feet 6.75 inches.

On Friday, sophomore Kari McAllister finished tied for 10th with a jump of 12 feet 1.5 inches. McAllister's sister, Ashley, will be competing on Saturday.