Cougars Open Strong at Mt. SAC Relays

Walnut, Calif. (April 17, 2009) – The first day of the Mt. SAC Relays was a success for the BYU women’s track team who earned a regional and national qualifying mark late Thursday night in Walnut, Calif.

“We had great performances,” said BYU women’s distance coach Patrick Shane. “Cecily Lemmon ran the race of her life and qualified for nationals. I was incredibly impressed.”

Lemmon took second in the premiere 10,000-meter event with a time of 33:38.34. The junior’s time is the fifth fastest in the nation and qualifies her for nationals.

Lemmon’s time is also the Mountain West Conference’s best mark and is the eighth best in BYU history. Lemmon’s final kick in the last 100-meters was nearly strong enough to overtake the leader Catherine White of Arkansas, who finished in a time of 33:37.83.

Continuing the Cougar success was Cecily’s older sister Jessica, who took tenth in the 10,000-meter open division with a time of 36:23.26. Jessica’s time is a personal best, a conference qualifying mark and ranks sixth in the MWC.

Earning another NCAA Regional qualifying mark on Thursday night for BYU was All-American steeplechase runner Amy Layne. Layne finished 16th in the elite division with a time of 10:20.28. Her top conference time also ranks in the top 15 in the nation.

The Cougars will continue to compete on Friday at the Mt. SAC Relays. For live results go to http://www.mtsacrelays.com/archives/2009/results/uo/index.htm.