Cougars seize four event wins at Sun Angel Classic

TEMPE, Ariz. – BYU men’s and women’s track and field athletes enjoyed success across multiple events at the Sun Angel Classic on Saturday.

FULL RESULTS

Women's Recap
Ashton Riner highlighted five BYU throwers in the top-10 of the javelin throw, winning the event with a mark of 54.58m/179-1. Alex McAllister (4th), Libby Parkinson (5th), Jessica Thompson (7th) and Nicole Freestone (9th) joined Riner with top-10 finishes.

Women's distance runners then placed six Cougars in the top-10 of the 800m, led by Claire Seymour, who's 2:03.70 earned her first place. Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes (2:04.53) finished second, and was followed by Alena Ellsworth (4th, 2:06.64), Meghan Hunter (6th, 2:08.06), Carmen Alder (2:08.78) and Heather Hanson (2:09.66). 

In the shot put, Leah Thompson set a new personal best with a mark of 13.43m/44-0.75. The squad of Meghan Hunter, Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes, Claire Seymour and Alena Ellsworth concluded the night with a second-place finish, clocking a 3:58.88.

Men's Recap
Colten Yardley clocked a new personal-best 400m hurdle time of 50.01 to win the event over Jamar Marshall Jr. of host No. 11 Arizona State. Yardley’s winning time further cemented him at No. 5 all-time in program history as he surpassed his previous personal-best of 50.04 set a season ago at the NCAA West Preliminary. BYU sprints coach Kyle Grossarth remains one spot ahead of Yardley on the team’s top-10 board with a 49.82 time he set with the Cougars in 2000.

Yardley’s time on Saturday sets him at No. 10 nationally, surpassing Cory Poole of No. 18 North Carolina A&T. Jace Jensen joined Yardley in the 400H, setting a personal record of his own at 52.27 and finishing fourth.

Jensen and Yardley teamed up with Dallin Draper and Landon Maxfield to win the men's 4x400m over Arizona State with a time of 3:05.18. This puts the current BYU "A" squad less than a second behind the 3:04.52 set by the 2021 foursome. 

Cortez Ruiz, Jared Davis, Joshua Taylor and Trey Jackson rans as the Cougars' "B" squad and took third at 3:11.10. 

The Cougars also saw success on the field with two top-5 finishers in the men’s javelin throw. Returning All-American Cameron Bates took third at 68.67m/225-3. Bates owns the program’s all-time best javelin throw at 77.17m/253-2. Teammate Michael Whittaker joined Bates on the top-10 board today with a throw of 67.99m/223-0. Whittaker’s new personal-best was good for No. 6 all-time at BYU, surpassing a throw from Wyatt Warnick in 2016.

The Cougars will be back on the road next week for three California meets: the Bryan Clay Invitational from April 13-15, Mt. Sac Relays from April 14-16 and Beach Invitational from April 15-16.