LARAMIE– The University of Wyoming men’s and women’s track and field teams will make their final adjustments before the conference meet by hosting the Cowpoke Open on Saturday at Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. Several Front Range teams will descend on Memorial 8 Track to compete in running events beginning at 10 a.m. MT and field events starting at 11 a.m. MT. Fans can follow live updates through Wyoming’s official Twitter account @wyoathletics.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls focused their energy on Colorado State’s Jack Christiansen Invite last Saturday and came away with several more marks that rank in Wyoming’s all-time top 10. Senior Mason Finley once again furthered his season best in the discus with a throw of 202-3, which earned him his third-consecutive Mountain West Athlete of the Week. Freshman Jordan Charles and graduate student Harry Fisher notched top-10 times in the 400-meter hurdles and 800 meters at 52.75 and 1:49.52, respectively, while the Cowgirls combined for the eighth-fastest 4×400-meter relay in school history at 3:42.32.
“We’re just going to try and fine tune some things at this meet,” UW head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “We have some athletes who aren’t quite where we think they need to be, so this is our last chance to get them where we think they need to be going into the conference championships. In certain events we will look for some big marks, though.”
Last Time Out: Wyoming’s Finley Impressive Again
Senior Mason Finley threw a season-best 202-3 to win the discus at Colorado State’s Jack Christiansen Invite and spearhead several impressive performances for the University of Wyoming track and field teams last Saturday. Finley’s toss kept him sixth in the NCAA and second in Cowboy history in the event, but placed him ahead of former U.S. Olympian Casey Malone at the meet.
“It was a very nice day in Fort Collins, but it wasn’t optimal conditions for the discus,” UW head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “In the discus you want some wind and it was really calm. To throw that well in dead air is impressive. It shows that even if it’s not perfect conditions, Mason is going to go out there and compete well.”
Finley claimed one of four event titles for Wyoming on the day. Sophomore Scott Carter won the triple jump with a personal-best 50-6 3/4 to move to sixth in Cowboy history in the event, while the Cowgirls won the 4×400-meter relay in 3:42.32 for eight in UW history. Senior Candace Wollert won the 400 meters in 57.15. Other all-time top-10 performances for Wyoming included freshman Jordan Charles and graduate student Harry Fisher. Charles ran 52.75 in the 400-meter hurdles for eighth and Fisher posted a 1:49.52 in the 800 meters for sixth.
“Overall, it was a really good day of competition,” Berryhill said. “A lot of times when you come off a big meet the kids are down, but the ones we brought down here today competed really well. Not all the times were where we wanted them, but the energy was there.”
Three Straight: Finley MW Athlete of the Week Again
Make that three in a row. Wyoming’s Mason Finley was named Mountain West Track and Field Male Athlete of the Week for the third week in a row and sixth time this season, the conference office announced Tuesday.
The senior thrower continued a torrid start to his outdoor season with another season-best throw to win the discus at last Saturday’s Jack Christiansen Invite in Fort Collins, Colo. His mark of 202-3 (61.65 meters) kept him sixth in the NCAA and second in Wyoming history in the event, but placed him in front of former U.S. Olympian Casey Malone at the meet. The mark currently leads the MW by more than 16 feet and ranks 30th in the world. Finley has improved his best mark in each of the five discus competitions he has entered this season. Finley has been named MW Athlete of the Week seven total times during his career.
Outdoor Individual and Team Rankings
Seven Cowboys and Cowgirls rank in the NCAA’s top 50 of six events. Senior Mason Finley is the top Cowboy at sixth in the discus with a toss of 202-3 at last weekend’s Christiansen Invite. Senior Taylor Gardner is the top Cowgirl at No. 41 in the 400-meter hurdles with a 58.99 at the Beach Invite on April 19. Wyoming leads the MW in four outdoor events currently.
In the most recent USTFCCCA outdoor team polls, the Cowboys and Cowgirl are both 11th in the mountain region. During indoor, the Cowboys finished eighth and the Cowgirls were 12th.
Top-10 Marks Continue to Fall Outdoors
The Cowboys and Cowgirls combined for six new top-10 marks last weekend, including the sixth-fastest 800 meters by graduate student Harry Fisher in 1:49.52 and the sixth-furthest triple jump by sophomore Scott Carter at 50-6 3/4. The current Cowboy roster owns 14 individual top-10 outdoor marks, while the current Cowgirl roster has 24 individual marks. The Wyoming men and women set 29 new top-10 marks during the indoor season.
Wyoming Preparing to Host MW Outdoor Championships
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will host the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 14-17 at Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie. It will be the third time Wyoming has hosted a MW Championship in the 15-year history of the conference, after the 2009 outdoor track and field championships and the 2010 cross country championships. In 2009, the Cowboys finished sixth and the Cowgirls were ninth.
Next Up
Wyoming hosts the 2014 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 14-17 at the Memorial 8 Track at Louis S. Madrid Complex in Laramie.
