April 24, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State track and field teams will be competing in three meets this weekend, sending different athletes to the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Cal-Berkeley, Clarence Robison Invitational at Brigham Young University and Oregon Relays at the University of Oregon. All three meets will take place Friday and Saturday, April 25-26.

Live results will be available for both the Brutus Hamilton and Clarence Robinson Invitational at www.utahstateaggies.com.

The majority of Aggie track and field athletes will travel to Berkley, Calif. and Provo, while fellow teammates senior Stacie Lifferth-Dorius, junior Seth Wold and sophomore Steve Strickland will head to Eugene, Ore.

"We send some athletes to Oregon because it's a great place to race and the competition is better for their particular events," said USU head coach Gregg Gensel. "With all these meets we look at our athletes, assess their needs and send them to wherever their needs will be met."

The Brutus Hamilton Invitational will begin Friday with the women's hammer at 10 a.m. and finish Saturday at 4:50 p.m. with the men's 4x400 relay. In California, the Aggies will be competing against athletes from Fresno State, Houston, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Francisco and Stanford.

The Clarence Robison Invitational will start Friday at 11 a.m. with the women's javelin throw and finish Saturday with the men's 4x400 relay at 4:25 p.m. The Aggies will be competing against athletes from Barton County Community College, BYU, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah, Utah Valley, Weber State and select athletes from Boise State.

The Oregon Relays, held at Historic Hayward Field, will begin Friday night with the Distance Carnival and will end Saturday with a mix of relays and individual events. The two-day competition will showcase elite high school, collegiate and professional athletes.

Last year, at the Clarence Robison Invitational, Aggie winners included current senior Dasheek Akwneye, who recorded his personal best in the men's 400m with a time of 46.86. Current senior Chase Taylor recorded his personal best as he won the men's javelin with a throw of 208-05. Wold also took first-place in the men's 1,500m and 5,000m with times of 3:56.93 and 15:05.38, respectively.

Other notable finishes include current sophomore Jessica Nielsen's third-place finish in the women's 400m race with a time of 56.48 and current junior Tyler Ellis' third-place finish in the men's shot put with a throw of 49-03.50.

Currently, six Aggies lead the Western Athletic Conference in their respective events. For the men, Akwenye leads in the 400m with a time of 46.83, along with Strickland who is leading the 3,000 steeple with a time of 8:57.03. Wold leads in both the 5,000m and 10,000m with times of 14:31.55 and 30:58.35, respectively. Senior John Strang is the only Aggie field athlete to lead the WAC. His mark of 6'8.75 (2.05m) puts him in a tie for first place in the high jump.

For the women, Lifferth-Dorius leads the WAC in the 3,000 steeple with a time of 10:36.65. Sophomore Ashlee Cannon also leads in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.79.

In the national rankings, Strickland has the 18th-fastest time in the 3,000 steeple, while Pimentel is 41st in the 100m. On the women's side, Lifferth-Dorius is 36th in the 3,000 steeple and junior Krista Larson is 42nd in the hammer (185-10).

After competing in the three meets this weekend, the Aggies will have two weeks to prepare for the Utah Collegiate Challenge on May 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This meet will be USU's final competition before the WAC Championships, which will be hosted by Boise State, May 14-17.