Track and Field Teams Finish Strong for 2014-2015 BYU Athletics

Jun 21, 2013; Des Moines, IA, USA; Nicholas Rivera of Texas Tech (center) defeats Marcus Dickson of BYU (left) and Nick Hartle of UCLA (left) to win the junior 800m in 1:49.55 in the 2013 USA Championships at Drake Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA Track and Field Championships have finished and they were the last major competition for BYU Athletics until August.

The Cougars had a strong and praiseworthy performance. In fact, it looks like BYU has a good chance to one day send at least one of these athletes into the Olympics!

Mar 1, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Kensey Berry of BYU (47) holds off Erin Allen of Washington State (327) on the anchor of a womens 4 x 400m relay heat, 3:40.79 to 3:40.73, in the 2014 MPSF Indoor Championships at the Dempsey Indoor Track. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Three athletes qualified for the BYU Women’s finals, which included pole-vaulter Anginae Monteverde, and runners Shea Martinez and Kelsey Brown-Gilbert.

Monteverde surpassed BYU’s previous record by a long shot and placed sixth, which also resulted in her placement as a First Team All-American.

Martinez took 17th place and Brown-Gilbert finished 24th, and both earned honorable mentions as All-Americans.

Near the end of May in Texas, Shaquille Walker, Mario Harper, Sean Adams and Jesse White pulled together in the 4×400 Men’s Relay to not only qualify for Nationals in Oregon, but also broke a BYU record and earned 1st place at the competition.

“Honestly there is no way in the world I should be able to run these times after just being home eight or nine months.” -Shaquille Walker

Other Cougars that qualified for the Men’s team include Braden Bringhurst, Steve Flint, Mark Carlson, Jason Whitt and Spencer Gardner.

In Oregon, Jason Whitt took 3rd place in the 10,000 meter race and Spencer Gardner took 16th. Mark Carlson took 21st in the 400 meter hurdles and Steve Flint finished 10th place in the 300 meter steeplechase.

Lastly, Walker took 5th in the 800 meter race, and the relay team, which included Walker, also took 5th. Shaquille Walker is just a sophomore, and his background will show you that he’s going to do some much bigger things.

Mar 1, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; BYU Cougars coach Ed Eyestone at the 2014 MPSF Indoor Championships at the Dempsey Indoor Track. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Walker is a Mormon convert from Georgia, who went on a mission to England where he got “completely out of shape,” at least in an athlete’s world.

Walker said that he “didn’t run more than 15 times collectively…” But in just a matter of months he’s already becoming one of the best.

“Honestly there is no way in the world I should be able to run these times after just being home eight or nine months. That just doesn’t happen,” he said.

BYU Track and Field Coach Ed Eyestone called the athlete’s talent level “freakish.” To catch a glimpse of why, check out this tweet from April this year:

I fact checked this (nothing against BYUSN), and another source confirmed that it was truly the 5th fastest time in the world, at least at the time.

So just how far will Walker go?

“I want to be an Olympian,” he said.

You’d be safe to say it’s going to happen. This guy is very good.