PROVO -- BYU's Kenneth Andam is not supposed to be this good -- at least not as a sprinter. The junior trackster from Takoradi, Ghana, was recruited to Provo as a triple-jumper, but injuries kept him from reaching his potential in that event. So, earlier in Andam's BYU career, coach Willard Hirschi decided to turn him into a sprinter, like Andam's older brother, Felix, a former Cougar star.
It appears to be a good fit.On Saturday at the Clarence Robison Invitational, an annual meet featuring several area teams, Andam ran away with three sprint victories -- the 100-meter dash (10.22, a season-best and NCAA provisional mark); the 200 meters (20.93, another season-best); and the 4x100 (40.15), for which he was the anchor. Not bad for guy who suffered a stress fracture in his leg in January.
"Kenneth has been held back because of his broken leg during the indoor season," Hirschi said. "He's only been able to train the last few weeks. It still bothers him and it slows him down. He's really developed as a sprinter. When he came here, the fastest time he had run was a 11.5. He'll be something special."
Finishing second in both the 100 and 200 meters was Thobias Akwenye, a junior from Windhoek, Namibia. Freshman decathlete Curtis Pugsley also shined, finishing second overall in the meet. By scoring 7,174 points, he became the first Cougar in two years to shatter the 7,000-point mark on his way to provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships.
Senior Marc Chen claimed high jump honors by clearing 7-2.5, edging out Weber State's Charles Clinger, who is ranked second in the country in the event.
Hirschi was happy with his team's effort in the first home meet of the outdoor season. "We've been kind of stagnant, but we finally broke out of it today," he said. "We're where we need to be. We had a tremendous meet. Almost every kid got a provisional time here. We performed at a very high level."
BYU women's coach Craig Poole was similarly pleased with his squad. "It's our best outing so far," he said. "It's the best we've done so far this year." The Cougars were led by Kirstin Bolm, who readily admits she is a slow starter. But, boy, can she ever finish.
Bolm went head-to-head with former BYU star and former teammate Tiffany Lott-Hogan, who competed unattached, in the 110-meter hurdles. As usual, Bolm struggled coming out of the blocks.
But in the end, the senior from Scheesel, Germany, defeated Lott-Hogan and posted a season-best time of 13.08, an NCAA automatic qualifying time. That was one of three victories she claimed on the day. Bolm also won the 100 meters (11.81, a BYU season-high) and the long jump (21-02).
"I knew it would be a tight race," she said of her win over Lott-Hogan. "I wouldn't say that I expected to beat her. I know she's really strong at first and that's my weakness. She made a mistake when she hit the hurdle later in the race. I'm happy with a 13.08. I can't complain." Lott-Hogan is a former world record-holder and, like, Bolm, an Olympic hopeful.
Holly Gibbons' 58.75 in the 400-meter hurdles was a career high, a provisional mark and third fastest in school history. Pole vaulter Becky Jackson fell just short of a BYU record with a jump of 12-3.7.
The Cougar women will send split squads to compete in the Drake Relays and the Penn Relays. The men's team, meanwhile, will host a tri-meet on May 6. Both the Cougar men and women will host the inaugural Mountain West Conference meet May 17-20.