Eight Cougars advance in Day 2 of Air Force Invitational

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – During the second day of competition at the Air Force Invitational on Friday, eight women’s track athletes qualified for the semifinals and finals in four different events: the 60 meters, 60m hurdles, 200m and 400m.

“Overall, we preformed well, but we weren’t at our best,” assistant coach Corey Murdock said. “Several of the girls have colds, and several others were competing in their first race since overcoming injuries. Given the circumstances, they did what they could, and any time we advance to the next round is a great accomplishment.”

Junior sprinter Arlene Gowar finished third to qualify for the 60m semifinal with a time of 7.71 seconds. She also qualified for the 200m final with a fourth-place finish in 25.43.

Joining Gowar in the 60m were Aubrey Hale and Melissa Keltner. Hale finished fourth in 7.72 and Keltner finished ninth in 7.91. Both qualified for the next round.

In the 400m, Kaylee Packham and Angela Shields advanced to the finals with third- and sixth-place finishes in 58.5 and 58.59, respectively. Allysa Hansen, who also competed in the 400m, finished eighth in 58.89, just two places from qualifying for the next round. This was Hansen’s first race of the season and her first race since the 2011 seasons due to an ACL injury.

Taylor Stapley qualified for the 60m hurdles finishing 10th in 9.14, and Packham also qualified placing 11th with a time of 9.16.

Keltner finished ninth in the long jump with a mark of 5.16m (16-11.25), and Meaghan Heffelfinger placed 11th in the weight throw with a throw of 15.41m (50-6.75).

Results for day two of the Air Force Invitational can be found at DirectAthletics.com.

Washington Invitational

Meanwhile, during day one of the Washington Invitational, Sarah Darby won the 5,000m final in 17.42.31. Carrie Jube finished sixth with a time of 18:23.06.

The only other event of the night that BYU women athletes participated in was the distance medley relay (DMR) with Ashleigh Warner, Natalie Stewart, Rachel Stewart, and Kelsey Brown. The DMR team finished fifth overall with a time of 11:32.13.

Both invitationals will continue competition tomorrow morning.

Results for Washington Invitational can be found at GoHuskies.com.

Live video for the Washington Invitational can be viewed on the Pac 12 Network.