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BYU Men, Women In MWC Track Championship Lead After Three Days
Cougars look to match sweep at Indoor Championships.
May 20, 2000
PROVO, Utah (May 19) - With one day remaining inthe Mountain West Conference Track and Field Championships, BYU leads both the men's and women's team competitions after claiming six event wins Friday. The BYU women scored 94 points to lead second-place Wyoming (66), UNLV (39), and Colorado State (38). On the men's side, BYU finished the day with 73 points, followed by Wyoming (65), Air Force (60), and Colorado State (34). Wyoming's women jumped out to an early lead in the first event of the day, the women's hammer throw. Robin Lyons' winning 204'-10" toss led the Cowgirls to a 1,2,4,6,8 finish in the event, racking up 27 early team points. Mandy Kinney of Wyoming followed with a win in the shot put (50'-5.5"), with BYU's Becky Beachler taking second (48'-0.5"). Sharolyn Shields and Laura Heiner cut into the Wyoming lead in the 3,000 meters, placing first and third in 9:51.65 and 9:56.80, respectively, with second-place Karen Bockell of CSU (9:54.11) in between. In the women's pole vault, Becky Jackson broke the BYU school record for a third consecutive week, claiming victory for the Cougars with a height of 13'-0.25", an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Teammate Sara Higham (11'-10") and San Diego State's Kristi Draher (11'-10") followed, tied for second place. Amy Curtis kept the momentum moving in BYU's favor with a win in the javelin at 151'-7", outdistancing Cowgirl Jorah Roylance (149') and giving BYU its first lead of the day. Kirsten Bolm gave BYU four straight event wins with a 20'-10" performance in the long jump, followed by teammate Anna-Lee Walcott and New Mexico's Monique Harris. Marty Hernandez made it five in a row for BYU with a win in the last event of the day, the 10,000 meters, finishing in 36:23.98 to out-duel Utah's Jenni Nelson (36:29.26). Wyoming's men followed the women's lead in the opening event, scoring 24 points in the hammer throw behind winner Jason Hammond (208'-5"). Air Force claimed its first win of the competition in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as Shane Rogers pulled away from BYU's Trevor Pettingill down the stretch, winning in 9:10.74. Fellow cadet Joe Bonner used a 193'-8" throw to claim victory in the javelin, edging New Mexico's Tyler Nunn (191'-11") and giving the Falcons the team lead after four events.
In the long jump, Mervin Swaby's leap of 25'-0" gave him the event win and pulled Wyoming to within one point of leader BYU. The shot put competition, featuring three athletes ranked in the nation's top seven, belonged to BYU's Jim Roberts, who set a personal best with a distance of 65'-3.25" to win the event and move into second place on the school's all-time list. Fellow NCAA qualifiers Jason Gervais (63'-0") and Jason Hammond (60'-8.5") finished second and third, respectively. In the final event of the day, Travis Hildebrand gave the Utes their first win with his 31:58.11 finish in the 10,000 meters, pulling away from a tight pack on the straight-away to finish ahead of BYU's Marc Lawson (32:01.50) and John Hedengren (32:03.06).
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