Cougars Stay Perfect With Last MWC Crown

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The No. 15 men’s track team won the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship for the 12th and final time, making it a clean sweep of every year of competition.

"The fact we never lost is something that I will always remember," head coach Mark Robison said. "It is bittersweet to leave this great track conference with terrific coaches but I was very pleased with our kids and our performances."

Six different Cougars won individual titles, one relay team claimed a victory and BYU scored 212 points to win. New Mexico finished with 177 points in second place and Air Force took third, scoring 139.50 points.

Robison was also named as the MWC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the meet.

Field events came up big in the scoring column. Three of the Cougar’s six individual champions on Saturday came from the pole vault, shot put and javelin throw while junior Kyle Mills (15.28m, 50-01.75) took second in the triple jump to add in points of his own.

"Kyle's jump was huge for us and scored needed points," Robison said. "The field events were big and helped us out a lot."

Senior Chris Little and sophomore Victor Weirich finished one-two in the pole vault. Both cleared 5.32m (17-05.50) for the first and second-place finish. Senior Leif Arrhenius won his second title of the meet, this time in the shot put with a mark of 18.96m (62-02.50) and junior Colby Barber grabbed third with a throw of 17.16m (56-03.75).

Arrhenius won the High Point Award at the meet, scoring a total of 26 points.

In the javelin throw, junior Chris Reno won a title with a throw of 71.46m (234-05.00). Reno’s mark defeated the next closest competitor by nearly 20 feet.

Junior Miles Batty continued to win, this time with a victory in the 1,500 meters and a time of 3:56.62. Sophomore Travis Fuller took sixth place in the race with a time of 4:02.05.

"Batty ran a tactical race and did very well," Robison said. "He wasn't feeling too great but did a good job."

Batty’s distance medley relay teammates, junior Justin Hedin won the 800-meter with a time of 1:49.60 and Brian Weirich finished fifth and clocked a 1:51.41. Coming in right behind Weirich was Batty with a time of 1:51.48.

Sophomore Cade Lindahl won the 400-meter with a time of 46.87 and sophomore James Derek McAllister took fourth in 47.72. Junior Steven Hart also competed, finishing in fifth with a time of 47.88.

In the 400-meter hurdles, the Cougars had one athlete qualify for the finals and Sean Adams finished in seventh place. With a time of 53.87 the sophomore picked up two points for BYU. Also scoring was senior Nathan Ogden in the 5,000 meters with a sixth place finish and a time of 14:24.85.

The 4x100 relay team was unable to finish the race after running out of the exchange zone but the 4x400 team redeemed the relay squads with a final MWC championship and a time of 3:09.39, edging out TCU by just over two-tenths of a second.

"It was too bad our 4x100 guys got a little excited and went out of their zone," Robison said. "But wow our 4x400 guys ran amazing and helped us out a lot."

With another MWC title in the books, the Cougars will now get ready for the NCAA West Regional meet in Eugene, Oregon in two weeks.

For complete results from today and the entire MWC Championships CLICK HERE.