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BYU Track and Field sending 15 to NCAA Championships

By Shaun Gordon

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 07: Starting blocks at the Carrara Stadium on day three of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on April 7, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 07: Starting blocks at the Carrara Stadium on day three of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on April 7, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
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Fifteen BYU Track and Field athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships, advancing through the West Regional this weekend in Sacramento.

52 BYU Track and Field athletes competed in the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento this weekend, and 15 of them earned a trip to Eugene, Oregon in two weeks.

All in all, BYU earned sixteen spots in ten different events at the NCAA Championships. Four Cougar athletes qualified in multiple events.

Perhaps the most dominant performance of the regional came in the Men’s 10,000 Meters, where four Cougar runners qualified. Rory Linkletter won the race, while Connor McMillan finished third, Clayton Young took ninth, and Conner Mantz placed eleventh.

Linkletter, McMillan, and Young also qualified in the 5000 Meters, with McMillan the highest-placing Cougar in fifth place.

The men’s team entered the regional ranked No. 7 in the nation, and they’ll have seven athletes in the championships competing in four events.

On the women’s side, nine Cougars will compete in Eugene in six different events. Andrea Stapleton-Johnson had the best women’s finish, winning the High Jump at 1.80 meters.

The qualifying Cougars are:

Men (regional placement in parentheses)

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  • Matt Owens – 3000m Steeplechase (2nd)
  • Clayson Shumway – 3000m Steeplechase (3rd)
  • Rory Linkletter – 10,000m (1st), 5000m (11th)
  • Connor McMillan – 10,000m (3rd), 5000m (5th)
  • Clayton Young – 10,000m (9th), 5000m (10th)
  • Conner Mantz – 10,000m (11th)
  • Kevin Nielsen – Decathlon (Qualified before regional)

Women (regional placement in parentheses)

  • Whittni Orton – 1500m (9th)
  • Alyssa Dalton – 100m Hurdles (11th)
  • Brenna Porter – 400m Hurdles (3rd), 4x400m (12th)
  • Lauren Rawlinson – 4x400m (12th)
  • Cassidy Pinnock – 4x400m (12th)
  • Ellie Heiden-Quackenbush – 4x400m (12th)
  • Andrea Stapleton-Johnson – High Jump (1st)
  • Ashton Riner – Javelin (11th)

The BYU men’s team has 32 individual outdoor championships, the latest coming in 2009, when Kyle Perry won the 3000-Meter Steeplechase.

BYU’s women boast 15 outdoor titles, with Nachelle Mackie winning their last championship in 2012 (800 meters).

The NCAA Championships will run from June 6-9 in Eugene. All of the events will either air or stream on an ESPN network. The full schedule can be seen here.

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