Men's Track Rises in National Rankings

PROVO -- After improving on a number of marks at the Robison Invitational last weekend, BYU leaped eight spots in the USTFCCCA national rankings to move into 13th on Tuesday.

BYU moved from 21st in the nation into the 13th spot with 137.46 points, just behind Mississippi State and ahead of South Carolina. It's the first time in 2010 the men's team has cracked the top 15 in 2010.

BYU is also the top ranked team in the Mountain West Conference.

The Cougars' throwers led the way for BYU this past weekend. Leif Arrhenius moved into the top ten nationally in both the discus and the shot put, currently at fifth in the discus and ninth in the shot put.

Daniel Lawson currently 26th nationally in the shot put as Arrhenius and Lawson are 1-2 in the MWC in the event.

BYU also has three of the top 15 javelin throwers in the country. Sean Richardson is fifth with a distance of 235'8" while Blaine Baker is currently 12th and Chris Reno at 13th nationally. The trio sit atop the MWC rankings.

Rich Nelson is fourth in the nation in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, joining pole vaulter Chris Little in sixth place as two more Cougars in the top ten nationally in their respective events.

In distance, Nathan Ogden is 18th in the country in the 10,000-meter run and 25th in the 5,000 meters.

BYU will next compete in the Tri-Meet held at Robison track and field complex this weekend, April 30-May 1. The MWC Championships will be held May 12-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico while NCAA competition begins May 27 in Austin, Texas.

USTFCCCA National Rankings
2010 Week #4 – April 27
Rank   School          Points   Last Week
1      Texas A&M       285.02   2
2      LSU             270.55   9
3      Florida         268.23   1
4      Arizona State   201.08   7
5      Auburn          192.19   8
6      Texas Tech      188.22   5
7      USC             186.55   6
8      Florida State   178.36   4
9      Oregon          173.75   3
10     Mississippi     168.94  14
11     Oklahoma        164.29  12
12     Miss. State     145.64  10
13     BYU             137.46  21
14     South Carolina  136.94  11
15     Georgia         116.20  42
16     Arkansas        109.07  17
17     Virginia Tech   102.60  18
18     North Carolina  100.22  30
19     Kansas State    100.10  22
20     Nebraska         96.84  13
21     Baylor           94.51  16
22     Stanford         94.50  29
23     Kansas           90.27  26
24     Penn State       89.25  41
25     Washington       88.69  31