Fast times and forward thinking at the BYU indoor invitational

Utah Valley University track and field came into the Brigham Young University indoor invite on Jan. 9-11, with two things in mind. First, to compete against their rival in-state universities and second, to get a good idea of how things could shape up this indoor track season. The Wolverines accomplished both, leaving no doubt that the team has been working hard over the holiday season.

Women’s Results

If the Women showed anything this weekend, it was that they are a young and talented team. One of the greatest performances from the Wolverines came in the 60m dash. Freshman Julia Hunt and Secret McEuen ran well enough to qualify for the finals where they then finished third and fourth with a time of 7.8 and 7.9 seconds, respectively.

Junior Alexis MacArthur and freshman Trinity Schimbeck — who joined the fast freshmen club as well — took first and second in the 800m run. MacArthur won the race far ahead of the competition with her time of 2:22.

Men’s Results

The men’s team accomplished what they set out to do in trying to get a good look at how they could compete this season. Senior distance runner Kevin Lynch finished eighth in the 3000m race, finishing for the second meet in a row with a time of 8:36.

Junior Albert MacArthur finished just behind his season best with a triple jump of 14.92 meters. MacArthur later reflected on the Wolverine’s performance.

“We’re taking it as a practice meet, so I’m not going to dread or freak out about it,” said MacArthur. “I’ve had some bad meets throughout the years, it doesn’t define what I’m going to do later on. As a team we are hoping to bring home the WAC indoor championship. I think that we have a huge chance. It’s just if we have everyone bringing it in and striving to do their best.”

The Wolverines will be back on the track Jan. 24-25, as they go to the Ed Jacoby Invitational at Boise State University. As MacArthur claimed, the team’s past meets don’t define what they can accomplish later on. Only time will tell just what the extent of UVU’s accomplishments on the track can be.

Photo by Hunter Hall