Robinson, Haws Have Great Performances

COLORADO SPRINGS -- In the final meets before the MWC Championships, the BYU women’s track and field team traveled to the Husky Classic in Washington and the Air Force Invitational in Colorado and came away with solid performances.

"We had great performances today in Washington and at Air Force," head coach Patrick Shane said. "Ada (Robinson) performed very well in Colorado and all of our runners but one ran season bests in Washington. It was a great day."

In a dominating performance, junior Ada Robinson won the high jump by clearing a season best 1.86m (6-01.25). The height ranks third in the NCAA this season and first in the Mountain West Conference. Diana Blauer took third in the event, clearing a height of 1.75m (5-08.75).

Junior Natalie Stewart took first in the 400m in 55.25, a season-best time, and senior Porshe Giddings finished the event in third in 57.69.

BYU also performed well in the 60m hurdles, taking the top three spots. Mindy Sagers took first in 8.45 and senior Alyssa Christensen was a close second in 8.54. Fatima Makakala took third in 8.61.

Three Cougars placed in the top eight of the 200m dash, with Sagers leading the way in third (24.92). Arlene Gowar was close behind in fifth (25.03) and Aubrey Hale took seventh in 25.30.

Hale and Gowar also competed in the 60m dash, with Hale taking fifth in 7.64 and Gowar nabbing sixth in 7.69.

In the pole vault, sophomore Rachel Fisher finished first among collegians while clearing a season-best height of 4.16m (13-7.75). Junior Kelli Ehardt finished third with a height of 3.85m (12-7.50).

Back in Washington, the Cougar distance runners competed well against top competition. Junior Morgan Haws, the reigning MWC Athlete of the Week, finished 12th in the 5000m in 16:14.01, a leading time in the MWC. Senior Kate Bowen finished 20th in the event in 16:24.03.

Kari Hardt led BYU in the mile with a 14th place finish in 4:45.96. Two other Cougars finished in the top 30, with Stacy Slight crossing the line 21st in 4:49.49 and Candace Eddy finishing 28th in 4:51.34.

In her first race of the indoor track and field season, senior Cecily Lew finished 38th in the 3000m in 9:47.27.

Also competing the Washington were the BYU throwers. Martha Shephard was the top performer for BYU with a shot put throw of 13.15m (43-01.75).

"We are looking forward to the MWC Championships," Shane said. "We will take the week off to prepare and are looking forward to good competition."

The Cougars will have next weekend off as they prepare for the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 25 and 26.