UW track splits squad

The University of Wyoming track and field teams split their squads on Saturday, with half to the of the team at the Husker Invite in Lincoln, Neb., while the rest went to the New Mexico Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.

While in Lincoln, junior Cowgirl Afiya Walker improved on her sixth-best all-time 400-meter dash time on Saturday with her 55.37 seconds and seventh place finish. Fellow junior, Alysha Davis, ran the eighth-best 3,000-meter run in UW history with her third place finish on Saturday. Senior Jennifer Schmitz finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles with her time of 8.83, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Taylor Gardner, Olivia Heaston, Erica Anderson and Walker ran a time of 3:49.34 which is good for sixth-best all-time.

As for the men, junior Greg Miller also entered the top-ten list for the Cowboys, with his sixth-best time of 8:18.97 in the 3,000-meter run. The 4x400-meter relay team of Kekoa Chavez, Jay Petsch, Ken Lane, and Mario Harris finished second in their section with their time of 3:18.88.

“We had another good day in here in Nebraska and hopefully we can continue to improve even more in our next meet,” said head coach Don Yentes.

In New Mexico, redshirt freshman Stephen Michel finished third in the long jump against some very tough competition. His best jump of 24-feet, 3 1/2 inches improved his place in the top-ten list and moved into ninth all-time. Junior Jeremiah James was right behind Michel in fourth place with his jump of 24-3.

The Cowgirls were led by freshman Erin Urbanoski in the long jump 18-3 3/4 and a seventh-place finish.

“We were a little off our game today,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “Stephen Michel had a good meet and had a personal best in the long jump, against some very good competitors.”

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will again split up their squads to compete at the Air Force Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo., and at the Iowa State Invitational in Ames, Iowa. Both meets will be two-day meets and start on Friday.