BYU qualifies 23 entries to NCAA track and field championships in Texas West Prelims

BYU’s Whittni Orton, center, qualified for the NCAA track and field championships with qualifying efforts in the 5000-meter and 1500-meter races at the NCAA West Preliminary over the weekend at College Station, Texas. | BYU Photo

Whittni Orton, Michael Bluth among multi-event stars for Cougar track team

BYU sent quite the delegation of runners from its women’s national championship cross country team and a solid cross section of men at the NCAA West Preliminary at College Station, Texas, the past four days and it paid big dividends.

The Cougars sent a record and national high 69 athletes to this preliminary meet, a qualifying competition for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship June 12 in Eugene, Oregon, and 23 entries punched their ticket this week.

Both BYU men and women saw athletes post personal bests and school records.

Three Cougar women advanced in the 1500-meter with a strong showing led by Whittni Orton with the third-best time of 4:10.18. Anna Camp-Bennett qualified at ninth (4:13.38) as did Kate Hunter (11th) with her personal record time of 4:14.41.

She’ll take two✌️

Whittni Orton » 5000m
⏱ 15:58.32
#NCAATF Qualifier: 1500m & 5000m pic.twitter.com/5nW7ay0EHR

— BYU Track & Field/Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) May 30, 2021

Courtney Wayment dominated the 3000-meter steeplechase with a first-place time of 9:42.02, while teammate Sara Musselman also advanced with the 11th best clocking. Weber State’s Summer Allen finished 5th with an impressive 9:47.51.

Wayment’s time established her as the second-fastest performer of all time at an NCAA West Preliminary round.

Weber State hurdler Kate Sorensen ran a 57.59 to advance with an impressive fifth place time in the 400-meter hurdles. Ute Poppy Tank, who had the fourth-best time in the 10,000-meter on Thursday, put on a late outside sprint in the 5000-meter heat to finish third in her section with a time of 16:00.19 to advance to Eugene.

In that women’s 5000-meter, BYU star Orton had the third-best effort with a time of 15:58.32 to advance as a multi-event participant (1500-meter).

BYU’s Cierra Tidwell Allphin’s 1.82m leap in the women’s high jump was good for eighth and advancement to the NCAA championship. Her effort was a personal best and ninth in school history.

In the women’s 800-meter, Cougar sophomore Claire Seymour broke to the outside and sprinted the final 80 yards in overtaking UNLV’s Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete before the finish line to advance as the No. 3 qualifier (2:04.07), placing second in a very fast heat. Teammate Camp-Bennett finished second in her section with a strong final lap to qualify for nationals with the sixth-best time of 2:04.79.

For the men, a discus thrower broke a dry spell for the Cougars.

Eugene Bound#NCAATF Qualifiers » Steeplechase

Garrett Marsing - 8:38.68
Clayson Shumway - 8:40.67 pic.twitter.com/x7awNAQvv7

— BYU Track & Field/Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) May 29, 2021

Cougar discus ace Dallin Shurts qualified for nationals on Friday right before a lightning storm postponed the competition. His toss of 56.34 meters was good for 12th in the preliminaries, and he became the first BYU discus thrower to make it to the NCAA championships since Leif Arrhenius in 2011.

The Cougar men showed the strength of the program by qualifying two relay teams to Eugene’s semifinals and the NCAA championships. Michael Bluth helped with the 4x100 meter relay and then broke his own 400-meter school record by .55 seconds.

Bluth qualified for nationals in three events.

BYU’s 4x100 men’s relay team (Bluth, Dallin Draper, Landon Maxfield, Andrew Stuart) posted an impressive season-best 39.43, good for ninth and a trip to Eugene.

The Cougar’s 4x400 relay squad (Bluth, Dallin Draper, London Maxfield, and Colten Yardley) finished sixth to qualify for the championship with a time of 3:04.52. It was yeoman duty for 400-meter qualifier Bluth running the opening leg. Bluth’s 45.13 time in the 400-meter was 12th, an automatic qualifier.

BYU Photo

BYU’s Michael Bluth qualified for the NCAA track and field championships in three events: the 400-meter, the 4x100 men’s relay and the 4x400 relay.

The Cougars advanced Talem Franco (10th) and Lucas Bons (11th) to Eugene in the men’s 1500-meter. Franco’s time of 3:40.33 was a season best.

Adding to the early competition success for the Cougars, freshman Yardley finished ninth to advance with a personal record 50.04 in the 400-meter hurdles. That moved him to the top five in BYU history. Back in 1969 BYU’s Ralph Mann won the NCAA title in the 440-yard hurdles with a blistering time of 49.6.

The Cougars advanced three runners to the semifinals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with Garrett Marsing with the second-best time in the competition (8:38.68) in winning his heat easily. Clayson Shumway advanced with an 11th finish with an 8:40.67. The top 12 advance. Just edged out of a trip to nationals was Weber State steeplechaser Bronson Winter, who finished 13th.

In the 5000-meter, BYU’s Casey Clinger was the first to advance as a time qualifier outside a top slot in heats with a time of 13.53.21.

SCHOOL RECORD & A BIG Q

The women’s 4x400m relay team closed out the meet with a school record-breaking 3:33.30 to advance to the #NCAATF Championships!! pic.twitter.com/od6L0Ca8Wg

— BYU Track & Field/Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) May 30, 2021

In the final event of the NCAA West Prelims, Utah and BYU fielded 4X400 relay teams in the second heat. The Cougar team was comprised of middle-distance runners and with Alena Ellsworth running anchor, they finished third and qualified for nationals with a school record time of 3:33.3 behind USC (3:26.37) and Texas (3:29.09). Utah finished eighth in that heat with a time of 3:42.55.

After times were tallied from three heats, the Cougar relay team finished with the No. 8 best time, just ahead of a talented Houston team by .32 of a second.

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