Utah State track and field athletes secured two event titles and eight podium finishes during competitions at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida, and the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, California, on April 3-4.
The performances included eight results that rank among the top ten in school history. Sophomore Shay Jones set a personal best for the fifth straight meet by finishing ninth in the 400 meters with a time of 52.53 seconds at the Florida Relays. This moved her to second all-time for Utah State in that event.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay team—comprised of Claire Petersen, Heidi Harper, Annie Ivins, and Jones—recorded a time of 3:39.25, marking the third-fastest ever for Utah State as they finished tenth overall. Ivins also placed forty-first in the women’s 800 meters with a time that ranks eighth all-time for Utah State.
At Stanford, sophomore Taite Priestley won his fourth high jump title of the season by clearing 2.07 meters (6-9.5). Freshman Brock Bissegger took first place in men’s shot put with a personal-best throw of 16.81 meters (55-2), improving his previous record by over three feet.
Other notable results included graduate Logan Garnica placing eleventh in the men’s steeplechase while holding Utah State’s record in that event; junior Garrett Woodhouse setting a personal best to move up school rankings; senior Sarah Ellis taking tenth place in her section of the women’s 5,000 meters; and junior Joshua McKee moving from ninth to fourth all-time at Utah State after finishing twelfth in his section of the men’s 10,000 meters.
Looking ahead, Utah State will send multi-event athletes to compete at Bryan Clay Multis in Azusa, California from April 10-11 while other groups participate at Weber-Utah Spring Open events held on April 10 at Weber State’s Chick Hislop Outdoor Track and on April 11 at Utah’s McCarthey Family Track & Field Complex.
