It's been a well-known fact that BYU has had the best track and field program in the state for several years. That's what made the dramatic finish at the All-Utah track meet Wednesday at Weber State surprising.
Utah State held a slim two-point advantage going into the final race - the 4X400 relay. And with about 50 meters to go in the meet, it looked like the Aggie men might actually pull out the upset win.Instead, BYU's Clayton Patch took advantage of a strong kick on the last leg of the relay to grab a narrow 69-68 team win over USU. Weber State came in third with 51 points in the men's competition, while Utah sent only one runner and scored only one point.
For the women, the meet was far less dramatic as the Cougars cruised to a 71-51 win over USU, with Weber State third with 42 points and the Utes again taking up the rear at 19.
In order to increase competitiveness, each school was allowed only one scoring athlete per event - which likely prevented BYU from running away with both men's and women's scores.
In addition to the win-or-lose final race, the meet had plenty of notable performances. USU's Ladonna Antoine probably had the most amazing individual performance. Already an qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the 400, the Aggie senior blistered the meet and stadium records as well as her season record with a 51.92 time. Antoine said that would give her the third-fastest time in the NCAA this year. Her nearest competitor was BYU's Melina Alver at 57.12.
"It felt like a 54," Antoine said, saying she didn't come close to running a perfect race for her. "It's nice, but I didn't feel like I distributed as well as I'd like."
Weber State's Tory Bailey just missed on a NCAA qualifying mark of 7 feet, 31/4 inches in the high jump. Instead, the recently returned missionary's mark of 7-11/4 only set the school record. "All day I felt pretty good about it," Bailey said. "If I come in mentally and physically like I did today I think I'll get (the NCAA qualifying height.)"
Also for USU, freshman Brandon Boone set personal bests in three events. His long jump of 24-23/4 was more than a foot better than his previous personal best set just last week. "I'm still learning how," Boone said of his winning jump. "In high school I just ran and jumped. Now I'm learning about the angles and lifts and stuff. College is a big difference."
The two-year old meet was held at Weber State's brand new track that was dedicated mid-meet as the William H. Child Track.