PROVO, Utah – No. 25 BYU men’s track and field kicked off this weekend’s competition with the heptathlon and 5,000-meters at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo and Washington’s Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational.

Four Cougars in Washington took part in the 5,000m race. They joined fourteen athletes from Stanford, Colorado, Portland, UCLA, Oregon, Washington State and No. 2 Washington. Brandon Garnica finished second overall with a 13:33.65 time, just behind Stanford’s first-place Devin Hart (13:29.31). Hart is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation in the event.

Creed Thompson crossed the line at 13:38.81 to tally a top-five finish at fifth. James Corrigan registered a 10th-place performance in his first collegiate 5,000m race (13:58.66) while Joey Nokes came next at 11th with a 14:02.57 finish. Nokes entered this weekend No. 17 in the nation for the 5,000m after his 13:29.30 performance on Feb. 11 in Boston.

In the heptathlon, Ben Barton and Dallin Vorkink completed four events at the Smith Fieldhouse: the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put and high jump. Barton recorded a new personal-best for the 60m with a 6.89 finish. His prior personal 60m best came just last week in his No. 2 all-time heptathlon performance as he posted a 6.93 time.

With two weeks until indoor nationals, Barton's overall heptathlon score of 5,693 at last week's MPSF Championship is No. 20 in the country.

The Cougars return to action tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m. MST with the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at the Smith Fieldhouse.

PROVO, Utah - No. 25 BYU men’s and No. 21 BYU women’s track and field continue to march toward nationals, splitting up with athletes at Washington’s Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite while also playing host to several schools at the Smith Fieldhouse for the third and final time this indoor season.

Meet Information

Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite

• Host: Washington
• Schedule (*all times PST)
  • Friday’s events start with the women’s pole vault at 12:00 p.m. and conclude with the men’s distance medley relay at 7:40 p.m.
  • Saturday’s events begin with the women’s high jump at 10:00 a.m. and conclude with the men’s 4x400-meter relay at 3:00 p.m.
• General Admission is available for $10 on the day of the meet at the ticket booth, and free for those 12 and under.
• Parking Information

BYU Indoor Invitational III

• Host: BYU
• Schedule (*all times MST)
  • Friday’s events start with the women’s pentathlon 60-meter hurdles at 11:20 a.m. and wrap up with the women’s 800-meter at 2:35 p.m.
  • Saturday’s events begin with the men’s heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 11:00 a.m. and conclude with the men’s pole vault at 2:30.
• Live Results
• Entry is free and open to the public

National Rankings

Fresh off a sweep at the MPSF Championships, several Cougars continue to hold strong in their place among the national rankings.

During “DMR Weekend” last week, the women’s distance relay team -- Taylor Rohatinsky, Annalise Hart, Alena Ellsworth and Sadie Sargent -- joined forces to smash a new school record (10:49.24) at the Arkansas qualifier, vaulting from No. 9 to No. 4 nationally. The squad competed against several other top DMR squads, including then No. 5 Arkansas, No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Kentucky.

In addition to the four women on the DMR team, the men’s and women’s teams boast four more top-10 athletes.

Pole vaulter Caleb Witsken continues his run among the elite clearances in the nation thus far with a mark of 5.66m/18-6.75, holding steady for fifth nationally. This past weekend, he competed in the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico with several top athletes, including U.S. olympian Sam Kendricks.

Senior Aubrey Frentheway is ranked sixth in the nation in the 5000-meter after clocking a 15:32.82 in Boston this month, the third-best time in BYU history. The Cheyenne, Wyoming native currently holds two top-10 times at BYU: the mentioned 5000m and No. 9 in the 3000m (9:13.10). Both were achieved in 2023.

Casey Clinger holds two spots in the top-10 nationally at No. 7 in the 5000m and No. 8 in the 3000m. Both performances have earned him school records this season, including surpassing his own coach Ed Eyestone’s 38 year-old 3000m record on Jan. 27 by over a second at 7:43.96. Clinger is also fresh off running as a member of BYU’s top DMR team in history, registering a 9:21.18 program record on Saturday at Notre Dame.

Cierra Tidwell Allphin, a junior from Gilbert, Arizona, is ranked No. 9 in the high jump after her 1.86m/18-6.75 mark on Feb. 11 at the Jarvis Scott Open at Texas Tech. The mark ties her up with Nyalaam Jok of Minnesota and Daniella Anglin of South Dakota and is a fourth of an inch away from fifth in the country.