Utah State Track & Field captures three titles on final day of BYU-hosted Clarence Robison Invitational

PROVO, Utah – One day after capturing the women’s shot put title at the BYU-hosted Clarence Robison Invitational, junior thrower Brenn Flint placed first in the discus as Utah State wrapped up competition at the three-day meet on Saturday at the Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex.

Not only was Flint’s mark of 52.50 meters (172-03) good enough for a gold medal, but it also proved to be the second-longest discus throw in school history. The native of Syracuse, Utah, moved ahead of Kelli Burton (51.84m) and now only trails Lindsey Spencer (54.48m).

“It was a struggle at first, but I finally got it together in the last couple of rounds, and it ended up being very good,” Flint said.

Flint was one of three Aggie women to capture titles on Saturday as freshmen Jordan Brandt and Katie Struthers won the 400-meter hurdles and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.

For Brandt, the native of Sandy, Utah, crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 59.34, which ranks fourth all-time in school history and is now the top mark in the Mountain West. Furthermore, she qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in the event, which will be held May 24-26 in Sacramento, Calif.

“It’s really relieving because I’ve been working really hard,” Brandt said. “Even though I am still relatively new to the team, I’ve been showing progress, and I wanted to keep that progress up. To see my hard work pay off is so relieving. It makes me happy.”

Brandt had high expectations for herself coming into Saturday’s competition.

“I wanted to set a pretty high goal because the higher your goal is, the closer you are going to be to achieving it,” Brandt explained. “My goal was a minute flat, so I knew that if I got a minute flat I wouldn’t qualify for the first rounds, but I would qualify for junior nationals. That’s what my goal was.

“To be able to accomplish that and more, I’m really happy with myself because I struggle with having the confidence to know that I can do something like that,” Brandt continued. “To see that my hard work does pay off like that, it’s great to see that setting high goals helps you achieve those high goals.”

Struthers won her second consecutive steeplechase title by crossing the line on Saturday in 11:19.83.

“This was just the fourth time I have ever competed in the steeplechase,” Struthers said. “I still feel like I’m learning a lot. Every single time I race it, my hurdling and water barriers get a little better. There were a couple of water barriers today that I came over to (assistant coach) Sarah (Griggs) after the race and said, ‘Did you see those? Those were perfect.’ That’s what I like most about this race is there is so much learning to it.”

Finishing second behind Flint in the discus was junior Michala Zilkey with a career-best throw of 48.20m (158-01.75). Senior Olivia Moriconi captured fourth with a throw of 46.44m (152-04.25).

Freshman Whitney Skabelund placed third in the triple jump (11.14m/36-06.50) and fifth in the long jump (5.53m/18-01.75), while fellow freshman Bailey Maseda finished fourth in the triple (10.83m/35-06.50).

In the mile, junior Tavia Dutson placed third with a personal-best time of 5:01.73 and junior Kashley Carter finished one spot behind her with a time of 5:02.43. Freshman Talie Bonds captured fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.06 and senior Kelsey Girardelli earned third place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:57.08.

Rounding out the women’s side was the 4x400m relay team consisting of Brandt, redshirt sophomore Jensen Mosman, sophomore Melanie Sullivan and sophomore Kasia Lawrynowicz that placed third with a time of 3:47.08.

On the men’s side, senior David Hirschmann recorded a personal-best throw of 55.98m (183-08) in the discus to place fourth in the event. He now ranks fifth all-time in school history in the event.

Junior Leaugen Fray placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 7.31m (23-11.75). Also competing in the event on Saturday was 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Jeff Henderson, who easily captured first with a stadium-record jump of 8.44m (27-08.25).

Sophomore Brody Smith placed third in the mile with a personal-best time of 4:11.39, and fellow sophomore Dylan Barker captured fourth in the 800m with a time of 1:53.04.

Also competing in the 800m was sophomore Bannon Greer, who won his section and placed sixth overall with a time of 1:55.79.

“I love running in the heat,” Greer said. “I just wanted to go all out. This might be my last race, so I wanted to go all out. My family was here and I didn’t want to disappoint them, so that was a big motivation factor, as well. I was just really visualizing my race before we started, and I did everything that I wanted to do. I’m happy with it. My time wasn’t my best by any means, but I won my section and that’s what I wanted to do.”

Fans can follow the Utah State track & field programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at Instagram.com/USUTF_XC. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic programs at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

CLARENCE ROBISON INVITATIONAL

CLARENCE F. ROBISON TRACK AND FIELD COMPLEX

PROVO, UTAH

APRIL 28, 2018

USU WOMEN RESULTS:

Javelin – 11. Mandee Christensen, 39.36m (129-01.50); 12. Stephanie Crapse, 39.08m (128-02.50); 17. Coya Nack, 32.08m (105-03); 20. Talie Bonds, 29.64m (97-03), 21. Alyssa Hirschi, 27.82m (91-03.25).

Long Jump – 5. Whitney Skabelund, 5.53m (18-01.75); 7. Niki Xydona, 5.27m (17-03.50).

Triple Jump – 3. Whitney Skabelund, 11.14m (36-06.50); 4. Bailey Maseda, 10.83m (35-06.50).

High Jump – 8. Josiah Williams, 1.67m (5-05.75); 9. Jennifer Christensen, 1.67m (5-05.75).

Discus – 1. Brenn Flint, 52.50m (172-03); 2. Michala Zilkey, 48.20m (158-01.75); 4. Olivia Moriconi, 46.44m (152-04.25); 9. Maia Garren, 44.40m (145-08); 12. Tori Bailey, 42.94m (140-10.50).

3,000m Steeplechase – 1. Katie Struthers, 11:19.83; DNF, Heather Holt.

Mile Run – 3. Tavia Dutson, 5:01.73; 4. Kashley Carter, 5:02.43; 8. Josie Givens, 5:12.83; 16. Paytin Drollinger, 5:22.10; 19. Rae Bedke, 5:23.49; 21. Emily Hubner, 5:29.09.

100m Hurdles – 5. Talie Bonds, 14.06; 7. Jordan Brandt, 14.26; 8. Olivia Leavitt, 14.50.

400m – 9. Jensen Mosman, 57.48; 10. Melanie Muncy, 57.79; DNS, Josie Ball.

800m – 10. Karen Christensen, 2:16.11; 11. Elli Eastmond, 2:16.15; 12. Megan Ryan, 2:16.29; 14. Breann Bate, 2:17.84; 16. Shannon Maloney, 2:18.91.

400m Hurdles – 1. Jordan Brandt, 59.34.

5,000m – 3. Kelsey Girardelli, 17:57.08; 6. Jackie Heaps-Henderson, 18:49.46.

4x400m Relay – 3. Utah State A (Jordan Brandt, Jensen Mosman, Melanie Sullivan, Kasia Lawrynowicz), 3:47.08.

USU MEN RESULTS:

Discus – 4. David Hirschmann, 55.98m (183-08); 7. Christian Sonnenberg, 50.32m (165-01); 14. Zach Cottrell, 45.26m (148-06); 18. Josh Barclay, 42.78m (140-04.25).

Long Jump – 5. Leaugen Fray, 7.31m (23-11.75).

Javelin – 8. Keil Nicholas, 55.42m (181-10).

3,000m Steeplechase – 6. J.D. Thorne, 9:38.36.

4x100m Relay – FS, Utah State A.

Mile Run – 3. Brody Smith, 4:11.39; 8. Kody Gould, 4:20.15; 12. Coen Haroldsen, 4:24.32; 13. Haydon Cooper, 4:24.59.

110m Hurdles – 9. Jacob Davis, 15.29.

400m – Braden Kram, DNS.

800m – 4. Dylan Barker, 1:53.04; 6. Bannon Greer, 1:55.79; DNF, Clay Lambourne; DNS, Samuel Coleman.

400m Hurdles – 7. Samuel Wing, 53.77; 14. Tanner Kutterer, 55.85; DNS, Jacob Davis.

4x400m Relay – DNS, Utah State A.

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