PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s track and field enjoyed an array of success in its opening day of competition at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California and the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California on Thursday.

Casey Clinger and Kenneth Rooks headlined the day’s results as each put on some of the greatest distance performances in program history.

Clinger clocked a school record 13:23.33 in section one of the men’s invite 5000m, surpassing the previous record of 13:24.77 set by former Cougar Conner Mantz just a season ago. The junior from American Fork, Utah beat Victor Kiprop of No. 10 Alabama by over a second to take fifth. Each runner in the top-5 broke the Cougar Athletic Stadium and Bryan Clay Invitational record of 13:24.77 set by Nike professional runner Evan Jager in 2018.

Rooks rocketed to victory in the men’s collegiate steeplechase at the Mt. SAC Relays with a personal record time of 8:32.75. As of Thursday, Rooks’ performance ranks No. 1 in the nation, ahead of the previous leader, Ryan Smeeton of Oklahoma State.

Rooks improved by nearly four seconds over his previous best while jumping from No. 7 to No. 5 on the BYU top-10 board, surpassing Josh McAdams’ 8:34.10 set in 2006. A sophomore from Walla Walla, Washington, Rooks was recently honored on the MPSF’s Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team and is less than a year removed from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dallin Shurts was the Cougars’ lone thrower to compete on Thursday, but made the most of his moment, finishing second of 22 in the discus throw at the Mt. SAC Relays with a mark of 56.02m/183-9. Shurts came in ahead of No. 22 Cal’s Iffy Joyner and was only overcome by Ralford Mullings of No. 9 Arizona State. The junior from Banks, Oregon advances to the discus throw final on Friday at 4:45 p.m. PDT.

Several other BYU distance runners competed at both meets on Thursday, including Davin Thompson, Aaron Leavens and Justin Hartshorn who each finished top-10 in the 10,000m at Mt. SAC.

Catch up on the remainder of the results with these results links:

Mt. SAC Relays

Bryan Clay Invitational

The Cougars continue competition tomorrow at both meets with the addition of throwers at the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State.

PROVO, Utah – No. 8/No. 11 BYU track and field will compete athletes in three meets throughout southern California this week, including the Mt. SAC Relays at historic Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16. 

Meet Information

Bryan Clay Invitational

• Host: Azusa Pacific
• Location: Azusa, California // Cougar Athletic Stadium
• Wednesday-Friday, April 13-15
  • Wednesday women's events begin at 8 a.m. PDT and men at 12 p.m. 
  • Thursday men's events begin at 8 a.m. and women at 8:30 a.m.
  • Friday men's events begin at 9 a.m. and women at 10 a.m.
• Live Stream ($)
• Live Results
• Fan Admission: $10.00
• Parking
• Competition: BYU is one of 17 Division I teams expected to compete athletes in Azusa. These include Utah, Northern Arizona, Iowa State, and for the women, two top-25 opponents in No. 6 Arkansas and No. 18 New Mexico. 

Mt. SAC Relays - "Where the world's best athletes compete"

• Host: Mount San Antonio College
• Location: Walnut, California // Hilmer Lodge Stadium
• Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16
  • Thursday BYU women's events begin at 12 p.m. PDT and men at 6:05 p.m.
  • Friday, BYU women's events begin at 10 a.m. and men at 11 a.m.
  • Saturday, BYU athletes will compete in just two events with women's high jump elite at 12:30 p.m. and men's pole vault elite at 2:20 p.m.
• Live Stream ($)
• Live Results
• Tickets
• Since 1959, the Mt. SAC Relays have been one of collegiate athletics' premiere outdoor track and field meets. Hilmer Lodge Stadium, a venue with a legendary past, hosts the meet. The stadium has played home to 21 world record-setting performances, seven alone on Aug. 12, 1960. This week, Hilmer Lodge welcomes athletes from 89 NCAA Division I teams.
• The Cougars will compete 42 athletes at the Mt. SAC Relays, including reigning All-Americans Courtney Wayment, Cierra Tidwell-Allphin, Dallin Shurts, Zach McWhorter, Casey Clinger and Garrett Marsing
• Competition: BYU will face opponents from nine top-25 men's teams and 10 top-25 women's teams at Mt. SAC. These include athletes form No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 7 Texas Tech. 

Beach Invitational

• Host: Long Beach State
• Location: Long Beach, California // Jack Rose Track Stadium
• Friday-Saturday, April 15-16
  • Friday women's events begin at 8:30 a.m. PDT and men's at 9 a.m.
  • Saturday men's and women's events begin at 9 a.m. 
• Live Results

Rankings & Recognition 

Both BYU men's and women's teams jumped two spots in the USTFCCCA top-25 on Monday. The women came in at No. 8 and the men at No.11, making BYU one of just eight programs with both men's and women's teams ranked in the top-15. 

The Cougars also boast 13 athletes with top-10 times or marks nationally.

USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Top-10 // April 11