Women’s track heads to Arizona for Sun Angel and Mesa Classics

PROVO, Utah – The women’s track and field team travels south this weekend for the Sun Angel and Mesa Classics in Arizona as it approaches the halfway point of the outdoor season.

The majority of the team will compete at the Sun Angel Classic, while several of the throwers will compete at the Mesa Classic.

“This should be a really good meet,” BYU coach Patrick Shane said. “It typically has a fairly competitive group of athletes. We are optimistic, and we should see a lot of improved performances that will produce qualifying marks for regionals.”

Some of the top events to watch this weekend, include the 400-meter hurdles, the 400-meter race and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

In the 400 hurdles, the Cougars’ have three athletes who are shooting for times less than 60 seconds. Last week at the UVU Invitational, Angela Shields and Allysa Hansen placed second and third with times of 1:00.87 and 1:01.35, respectively. Freshman Kaylee Packham placed fifth in 1:01.97.

In the 400m, Natalie Stewart and Nicole Rudd Bringhurst are set to compete. The two last competed during the Trojan Invitational with fourth- and ninth-place finishes. Stewart finished with a time of 53.65, an improvement on her time from the Aztec Invitational of 53.85. Her performance put her just .26 seconds from her personal best. Bringhurst finished ninth with a time of 56.22, a new personal best.

Laura Young is set to compete for the first time in the 3,000 steeplechase.

Competition for BYU at the Sun Angel Classic begins on Friday with the 5,000-meter race at 7:30 p.m. MST. A proposed schedule can be found at thesundevils.com.

The Mesa Classic will begin at 7 p.m. MST with the women’s hammer throw. The schedule can be found at athletics.mesacc.edu/track-field.