Martindale earns spot on BYU’s top 10 board in javelin

SAN DIEGO – Sydnie Martindale threw the eighth-best javelin mark in BYU track and field history as the Cougars finished competition at the Aztec Invitational on Saturday.

"There was some great competition against schools like Oregon, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin," BYU associate head coach Mark Robison said. "It was great because we matched up well with them. However, the biggest outcome from it all is that most of our athletes improved from where they were at last week."

In her second collegiate meet, Martindale tossed the javelin 48.48m/159-0 to earn the No. 8 mark in school history while also taking second place in the event. The former BYU women’s volleyball defensive specialist joined the BYU track and field team for her senior season and improved her position to potentially qualify for the 2019 NCAA West Prelims.

Throwers Elyse Cuthbertson and Sydnee Muhlestein finished 5-6 in the women’s javelin invite with marks of 42.53m/139-6 and 42.50m/139-5, respectively. In the men’s javelin invite, Matt Kitchen threw for 62.32m/204-5 for fifth place.

After taking eighth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, All-American Andrea Stapleton-Johnson made her outdoor debut on Friday in the women's high jump open. The senior took first place in the open and earned a potential regional-qualifying mark of 1.81m/5-11.25. Stapleton-Johnson followed up her Friday performance with a first place in the women's high jump invite on Saturday with a clearance of 1.77/5-9.75.

Rickey Fantroy Jr. took first place in his season debut in the men’s triple jump invite with a distance of 14.96m/49-1. The junior is coming off a career indoor season in the triple jump where he broke his career best with a mark of 15.30/50-2.5 at the 2019 MPSF Championships.

Both Ben Barton and Dylan Kay jumped 1.96m/6-5 in the men’s high jump. Due to the number of attempts, Barton tied for fourth overall and Kay placed seventh. Barton also finished in the top five in the 110m hurdles after clocking 15.01 to take third place.

Haley Rogers (24.90) and Jaslyn Gardner (24.93) finished 6-7 for BYU in the women’s 200m invite. Ramarco Thompson ran 21.57 to take sixth in the men’s 200m invite.

In the shot put, Jefferson Jarvis took third place with a toss of 17.64m/57-10.5 and Austin Carter placed fourth with a personal-best throw of 17.15m/56-3.25. Jarvis earned a career-best 53.78m/176-5 in the men's discus invite on his way to a third-place finish that puts him in position to potentially qualify for regionals. Sable Lohmeier finished seventh in the women’s discus with a career-best mark of 48.28m/158-4.

Jameson Shirley took third place in the men’s pole vault invite after clearing 4.97m/16-3.5 while Elise Romney finished seventh in the women’s pole vault invite with a height of 4.02m/13-2.25. Romney cleared the same height on Friday in the women's pole vault open to put herself in position to potentially qualify for the NCAA West Prelims.

The Cougars will participate in four different meets next week. The team will compete at the Texas Relays (March 27-30), Stanford Invitational (March 29-30), San Francisco State Distance Carnival (March 29-30) and UVU Invite (March 30). Details can be found on the BYU track and field schedule page leading up to each meet.

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