BYU NewsNet - Track and Field Competes Well at Invitational

BYU distance runner Kyle Perry has enjoyed his time in Washington this season.

Perry went to work once again at the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor Facility on Saturday, putting up a sizzling time of 7:51.20 in the 3000-meter run in the Husky Classic Invitational. Perry's time automatically qualifies him for nationals, and is the second fastest time in the nation so far this season.

The junior from Sandy set a national qualifying time in the mile on Feb. 2 at Dempsey Indoor, when he ran a national qualifying time of 3:59.16 in the 1-mile race.

"I sat right behind the rabbit the whole time and my body was hurting the entire race," Perry said in a news release, admitting he didn't feel well just minutes before the race. "Every time I thought about slowing down I just pushed a little harder and figured I could rest when the race was finished."

BYU junior Keith Jensen grabbed a national provisional time in the 800-meter in Washington as well. The middle-distance runner from Coppell, Texas kicked to the finish, passing 2 other runners in the final 200 meters for a time of 1:48.85. Jensen's time is the third fastest in the country this season.

"I am ecstatic about Keith's time, and it looks like that is going to be enough to get him into nationals," BYU distance coach Ed Eyestone said.

While a handful of men and women distance runners were in Washington, the bulk of the team was competing in Nampa, Idaho, in the Boise St. Invitational.

The women's team performed well, with several athletes seeing personal records over the weekend.

Senior sprinter Mary Bennion took first in the 400-meter run, with a time of 57.31.

The women's 3000-meter run saw the Cougar women sweep first through third. Freshman Anna Sperry won the event with a 10:12.55, while Sarah Hansen took second with a 10:23.19 and Millie Rapp completed the sweep with a 10:24.09.

"It was a low-key meet, and we performed well today," BYU women's coach Craig Poole said. "Our training was pretty tough over the past week, so it will be nice to get ready for the conference meet coming up."

On the men's side, the pole vaulting squad dominated, taking the first four spots in the event, with sophomore Chris Little leading the charge.

Little's winning vault was 17-03.00 (5.26 meters). Whitney Neves (5.05 meters), Matt Weirich (5.05 meters) and Brad Ellertson (4.90 meters) completed the sweep.

Three thousand-meter runner Rich Nelson and thrower Daniel Lawson also won their respective events.

Nelson, a sophomore from Spokane, Wash., surged past the competition, cruising to a time of 8:39.13, more than 10 seconds faster than any other competitor in his heat.

Lawson, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Moses Lake, Wash., threw a personal-best 16.97 meters in the shot put. Lawson's toss is the second-longest throw in the Mountain West Conference this season.

Two freshman distance runners, Curtis Carr and Tylor Thatcher, represented BYU at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Saturday. The two freshmen finished within one hundredth of a second of each other. Carr, of Provo finished the eight-kilometer race in 18:25.29, with Thatcher of Spokane, Wash., finishing in 18:25.29. Carr and Thatcher finished 17th and 19th, respectively, in the race of 100 distance runners under the age of 20.