BYU announced on Mar. 25 that its women’s track and field team will participate in the UVU Collegiate Invitational at Hal Wing Track & Field on March 26.
The event will see BYU athletes competing alongside teams from Utah Valley, Snow College, Utah State, Westminster, Southern Utah, Idaho State, Weber State and Northwest Nazarene. The meet offers an early opportunity for the Cougars to test their outdoor form against regional opponents.
In the hammer throw event, Kat Beachler, Lia Katoa, Jayda Lee and Lia Pili are scheduled to compete. Katoa currently holds the No. 7 spot in program history for the hammer throw after achieving a mark of 56.91 meters (186-8) in 2024.
The distance squad is set to make its outdoor season debut with entries in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter races. Tessa Buswell enters as the top seed in the 800 meters and is joined by Krystie Solomon-Jensen, Kylie Olsen, Anne Elise Packard and Brilee Pontius. Buswell holds the eighth-fastest time ever recorded by a Cougar in this event with her previous mark of 2:02.26.
Fifteen BYU athletes are entered in the 1500 meters race. Carlee Hansen-Thompson leads this group as she set a school record last outdoor season with a time of 4:07.64. Taylor Rohatinsky also returns with a personal best that ranks No. 8 all-time at BYU (4:12.76). Other competitors include Grace Hutchison, Emerald Kehr, Carmen Alder, Jenna Hutchins, Zariel Macchia, Jacey Harkins-Farmer, Taylor Lovell, Karissa Chamberlain, Addie Meldrum, Raygan Peterson, Nelah Roberts and River White.
This invitational marks an important milestone for BYU’s track athletes as they look to build momentum early in their outdoor campaign.
