Track Gets Going at Stanford Invitational

PALO ALTO -- Despite battling rain and wet weather, the No. 11 BYU men's and No. 17 women's track teams got good marks and strong performances during the first day of the Stanford Invitational on Friday.

In the long jump, freshman Drew Tingey managed to jump 7.05m (23-01.75) to win the collegiate division while senior Aaron Powell finished fourth in the invitational division with a jump of 7.12m (23-04.50).

Senior Sean Richardson and junior Chris Reno went third and fourth in the invitational javelin throw with marks of 65.23m (214-00) and 62.26m (204-08), respectively.

Senior Trevor Heiner tied for fifth place in the high jump, clearing 2.03m (6-08.00).

Finishing in the top 10 of a tight 400-meter race, sophomore James Derek McAllister took third with a time of 48.24 and junior Steven Hart finished ninth in a time of 48.94.

The 3000-meter steeplechase featured sophomore Jacob Cosby taking sixth place in 9:01.22. Freshman Benjamin Johnson took 11th place with a time of 9:09.72. In a different section, junior Josh Adams (9:07.85), freshman Mitchell Briggs (9:10.36) and senior Regan Frey (9:14.81) took the fifth, sixth and eighth spots.

Sophomore Amber Freeman led the women on day one with a first place finish in the javelin. Freeman won the event with a toss of 46.09m (151-02), four meters further than the second place finisher.

Porshe Giddings led the Cougars in the sprint events, nabbing seventh in the 100m in 11.84. Junior Fatima Makakala advanced to the finals in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.89 and will compete in the finals Saturday.

In the 1500m Katie Palmer led the team with a sixth place finish in her heat in 4:20.13. Michaelanne Laurent took fourth in her section of the event in 4:34.88 and Candace Eddy took fifth in the same heat in 4:35.06.

In her first race since the 2009 track and field outdoor season, Cecily Lemmon-Lew competed in the 5000m and finished ninth in 16:42.45. Lemmon-Lew earned All-American honors for her performance in the 10000m race in 2009.

The Stanford Invitational will continue on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. MT. For live results CLICK HERE.