Men's Track Shows Strong at Premier Meet

SEATTLE -- Competing at one of the biggest indoor meets of the season, the BYU men's track team held its own at the Washington Invitational on Saturday.

The Cougars had two of the top-three finishes in the weight throw, with Oliver Whaley setting a new personal record with a throw of 19.76m. Leif Arrhenius just missed also setting a personal best, finishing second in the same event with a throw of 20.86m.

Arrhenius also placed second in the shot put and Daniel Lawson finished fourth.

"Oliver and Leif were really good, and that mark will probably get Leif into the nationals," said BYU head coach Mark Robison.

Phillip Bettis finished fifth in the heptathlon with 5,309 points, becoming the first Mountain West Conference athlete to hit the 5,000-point mark.

"Bettis was incredible in the heptathlon," said Robison. "We were hoping he could just get through it, but he ended up almost setting a personal best."

BYU racked up high finishers in the 400 meters, with Rhyan Atrice placing third with a time of 48.32. Kevin Biesinger, Bryan Payne, James Derek McCallister and Rob Skidmore also placed in the top 16 in the event.

In the triple jump, Kyle Mills took third with a season-best 14.74m.

Nathan Ogden posted the second-best time in the MWC this year in the 3,000m with a time of 8:09.39 while Jon Kotter's time of 8:10.21 was just behind Ogden while Richard Nelson, Jonathan Nelson, Ryan Merriman and Reagan Frey also all participated in the 3,000m to give BYU six of the top eight spots among MWC runners this year.

CLICK HERE for complete results.