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Trevor Jones
| Posted: 24 May 2023 | Updated: 9 Jun 2023
Trevor Jones
Four BYU men punch tickets to nationals on day one at NCAA West Preliminary
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — No. 11 BYU men’s track and field completed day one at the NCAA West Preliminaries, qualifying four for NCAA Nationals with two more advancing to their respective quarterfinal rounds set to take place Friday.
Cameron Bates punched his ticket to NCAA Nationals with a sixth-place, 70.89m/232-7 toss in the javelin throw. The junior will return to nationals for a second time after having competed in 2021. Currently the all-time javelin leader at BYU (77.17m/253-2), Bates’ throw Wednesday would be counted as No. 5 all-time if he didn’t already stand atop the school record books.
“Cameron hasn’t competed in six weeks, since the Mt. SAC Relays, mostly because we’re making sure his elbow is healthy,” said BYU assistant throws coach Nik Arrhenius. “I think he was a little rusty today. We had two goals to check off: first, make it to nationals, and second, place in the top six in order to compete in the second flight at nationals. Both of those were accomplished today.”
Defending Second Team All-American pole vaulter Caleb Witsken notched a clearance of 5.40m/17-8.5 to earn his spot among competitors in Austin, Texas at NCAA Nationals June 7-10. The clearance was good for a tie with an elite group of athletes that included two in the top five nationally: Zach Bradford of Texas Tech (ranked No. 2) and Branson Ellis of Stephen F. Austin (ranked No. 3).
Casey Clinger and Brandon Garnica join Bates and Witsken as Cougars to lock up a spot at NCAA Nationals. Garnica and Clinger ran a consistent race near the top of the pack in the 10,000-meters, with Clinger placing ninth (28:23.41) and Garnica at 10th (28:24.05). Both were Second Team All-Americans in the event last year.
“That’s certainly the fastest 10,000m we’ve had at regionals in a while,” said BYU director of track & field Ed Eyestone. “I’m proud of the guys. Casey [Clinger] and Brandon [Garnica] obviously had good days - they knew they just needed to finish in the top 12 and ran accordingly.”
Christian Allen made a last-second bid for a top 12 qualifying spot, but fell just short at 13th (28:31.97). The Cougars’ top five for the event was rounded out by Creed Thompson at 15th (28:45.04) and Joey Nokes (29:08.28).
“Christian [Allen] was really the superstar of the night, he’s been dinged up with an injury and hasn’t had the chance to really train much over the last month, and for him to come within one or two seconds of making it to nationals was just amazing,” Eyestone said. “I’m super, super pleased with the efforts of all the guys.”
Lucas Bons qualified for Friday’s quarterfinal round as he raced to a season-best in the 1,500-meter first round, placing fifth among 47 runners at 3:40.83. The sophomore finished just 0.17 seconds behind No. 8 Adam Spencer of Wisconsin and less than a second behind event winner and second-ranked Joe Waskom (Washington). Bons aims to earn a second career nationals appearance on Friday.
Josh Taylor and Trey Jackson competed in the 400-meter first round. Taylor, fresh off a No. 3 all-time 400-meter race in BYU history two weeks ago (45.76), earned a spot in Friday’s quarterfinal as a time qualifier at 46.23. Jackson finished at 46.61.
Freshman Dallin Thornton improved upon his personal record by two heights to record a 5.30m/17-4.5. Another personal record on the night came from Treyton Anderson 400-meter hurdles with a 27th-place finish at 51.98.
The men will resume competition on Friday, beginning with the discus throw at 1:00 p.m. PDT.
For comprehensive results of BYU athletes, see MEET CENTRAL.
Trevor Jones
| Posted: 22 May 2023 | Updated: 7 Jun 2023
Trevor Jones
Cougars set for NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento
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PROVO, Utah - No. 11 BYU men's track and field continues the march toward NCAA Championships with the 2023 NCAA Division I West Preliminary at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California Wednesday.
MEET CENTRAL - Click here for BYU result updates following each event.
The Cougars will have 32 athletes competing in 16 events starting Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. PDT. Men's events run Wednesday and Friday, May 24 and 26, while the BYU women will compete in events Thursday and Saturday, May 25 and 27.
Decathletes, including BYU's Ben Barton, automatically advance to compete at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myer's Track Stadium in Austin, Texas on June 7-10.
Meet Information
- Dates: May 24-27
- Host: Sacramento State
- Venue: Hornet Stadium // Sacramento, California
- Men's Events: May 24, 26
- Women's Events: May 25, 27
- Watch
- Live Results
- Schedule
- Tickets
National Entry Standings
BYU ranks third nationally with 64 combined men's and women's preliminary entries. The total marks the third consecutive year the Cougars have qualified more than 60. Since the NCAA began preliminary competition in 2010, BYU has now compiled eight years with 50 or more entries.
| National Entries for NCAA Regional Round (Men + Women) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team | Entries |
| No. 1 | Arkansas | 75 |
| No. 2 | Texas | 66 |
| No. 3 | BYU | 64 |
| No. 4 | Texas Tech | 57 |
| No. 5 | Nebraska | 56 |
| No. 6 | Iowa, Florida | 50 |
| No. 7 | Alabama | 46 |
| No. 8 | Duke | 44 |
| No. 9 | Oregon, LSU | 43 |
| No. 10 | Texas A&M, USC, UCLA | 42 |
Among the nation's entries for men, BYU is second with 36, trailing only Arkansas' 41. The 36 entries also leads all 14 Big 12 schools that will be in the conference in 2023-24.
| National Entries for NCAA Regional Round (Men) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team | Entries |
| No. 1 | Arkansas | 41 |
| No. 2 | BYU | 36 |
| No. 3 | Texas | 34 |
| No. 4 | Texas Tech | 31 |
| No. 5 | Nebraska | 29 |
| No. 6 | Alabama | 26 |
| No. 7 | Tennessee | 25 |
| No. 8 | Iowa, Texas A&M | 23 |
| No. 9 | LSU | 22 |
| No. 10 | Minnesota, Florida | 20 |
BYU Athletes Competing
- Dallin Draper // Jr. // Delta, Utah
- Events: 100m, 200m and 4x100m
- Qualifying Time (100m): 10.28
- Qualifying Time (200m): 20.70
- Qualifying Time (4x100m Squad): 39.17
- National Ranking (4x100m): No. 14
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 100m (10th), 200m (6th), 4x100m (2nd) and 4x400m (3rd)
- Easton Bianchi // Sr. // Sterling, Illinois
- Events: 200m and 4x100m
- Qualifying Time (200m): 20.83
- Qualifying Time (4x100m Squad): 39.17)
- National Ranking (4x100m): No. 14
- No. 2 all-time at BYU in the 4x100m
- Josh Taylor // So. // Richfield, Utah
- Events: 400m and 4x400m
- Qualifying Time (400m): 45.87
- Qualifying Time (4x400m Squad): 3:03.19
- National Ranking (4x400m): No. 13
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 400m (3rd) and 4x400m (1st)
- Trey Jackson // So. // Alpine, Utah
- Events: 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m
- Qualifying Time (400m): 46.30
- Qualifying Time (4x100m Squad): 39.17
- National Ranking: No. 14
- Qualifying Time (4x400m Squad): 3:03.19
- National Ranking: No. 13
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 400m (10th), 4x100m (2nd) and 4x400m (1st)
- Sebastian Fernandez // So. // Andover, Minnesota
- Event: 800m
- Qualifying Time: 1:47.38
- National Ranking: No. 24
- No. 5 all-time at BYU in the 800m
- Caleb Johnson // Fr. // Draper, Utah
- Event: 1500m
- Qualifying Time: 3:39.15
- Lucas Bons // So. // Dublin, Ohio
- Event: 1500m
- Qualifying Time: 3:40.46
- No. 3 all-time at BYU in the 1,500m
- Brandon Garnica // Sr. // Springville, Utah
- Events: 5,000m and 10,000m
- Qualifying Time (5,000m): 13:36.60
- Qualifying Time (10,000m): 28:04.62
- National Ranking: No. 11
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 5,000m (4th) and 10,000m (7th)
- Casey Clinger // Sr. // American Fork, Utah
- Events: 5000m and 10,000m
- Qualifying Time (5,000m): 13:44.72
- Qualifying Time (10,000m): 28:01.67
- National Ranking: No. 8
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 1,500m (5th), 5,000m (1st) and 10,000m (5th)
- James Corrigan // Fr. // Los Angeles, California
- Event: 5,000m
- Qualifying Time: 13:45.01
- Creed Thompson // So. // Lehi, Utah
- Event: 10,000m
- Qualifying Time: 28:04.15
- National Ranking: No. 9
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 5,000m (9th) and 10,000m (6th)
- Joey Nokes // So. // Riverton, Utah
- Event: 10,000m
- Qualifying Time: 28:05.38
- National Ranking: No. 13
- Ranks in the top-10 all-time at BYU in the 5000m (6th) and 10,000m (8th)
- Christian Allen // Graduate // West Jordan, Utah
- Event: 10,000m
- Qualifying Time: 28:43.59
- Luke Grundvig // So. // Highland, Utah
- Event: 10,000m
- Qualifying Time: 28:48.49
- Jacob Stanford // So. // Carlsbad, California
- Event: 10,000m
- Qualifying Time: 28:57.46
- Spencer Carlile // So. // St. George, Utah
- Event: 400m Hurdles
- Qualifying Time: 51.62
- Jace Jensen // So. // Bountiful, Utah
- Events: 400m Hurdles and 4x400m Squad
- Qualifying Time (400m Hurdles): 51.98
- Qualifying Time (4x400m Squad): 3:03.19
- National Ranking: No. 13
- Part of the No. 1 all-time 4x400m squad at BYU
- Treyton Anderson // Fr. // Dillon, Montana
- Event: 400m Hurdles
- Qualifying Time: 52.12
- Kenneth Rooks // Jr. // Walla Walla, Washington
- Event: 3,000m Steeplechase
- Qualifying Time: 8:31.83
- National Ranking: No. 1
- Ranks No. 1 all-time at BYU in the 3,000m steeplechase
- Garrett Stanford // So. // Carlsbad, California
- Event: 3,000m Steeplechase
- Qualifying Time: 8:51.52
- Zach Erikson // So. // Idaho Falls, Idaho
- Event: 3,000m Steeplechase
- Qualifying Time: 8:52.69
- Jake Grimsman // So. // Folsom, California
- Event: High Jump
- Qualifying Mark: 2.16m/7-1
- National Ranking: No. 25
- Caleb Witsken // Sr. // Logandale, Nevada
- Event: Pole Vault
- Qualifying Mark: 5.51m/18-1
- National Ranking: No. 15
- Ranks No. 3 all-time at BYU in the pole vault
- Nathan Burnett // Jr. // Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Event: Pole Vault
- Qualifying Mark: 5.26m/17-3
- Dallin Thornton // Fr. // South Jordan, Utah
- Event: Pole Vault
- Qualifying Mark: 5.13m/16-10
- Danny Bryant // So. // Valencia, California
- Events: Discus Throw and Shot Put
- Qualifying Mark (Discus Throw): 55.56m/182-3
- Qualifying Mark (Shot Put): 18.82m/61-7.5
- Dallin Shurts // Sr. // Banks, Oregon
- Event: Discus Throw
- Qualifying Mark: 62.21m/204-1
- National Ranking: No. 8
- Ranks No. 6 all-time at BYU in the discus throw
- Cameron Bates // Jr. // Spanish Fork, Utah
- Event: Javelin
- Qualifying Mark: 76.07m/249-7
- National Ranking: No. 7
- No. 1 all-time at BYU in the javelin throw
- Brinton Paulson // Fr. // Orem, Utah
- Event: Javelin
- Qualifying Mark: 66.92m/219-5.5
- No. 9 all-time at BYU in the javelin throw
- Chase Clement // So. // Springville, Utah
- Event: Javelin
- Qualifying Mark: 65.38m/214-6
- Abram Schaap // Jr. // Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Event: 4x100m Relay
- Qualifying Time (4x100m Squad): 39.17
- National Ranking: No. 14
- Part of No. 2 all-time 4x100m relay squad at BYU
- Eli Hazlett // So. // Moab, Utah
- Event: 4x400m
- Qualifying Time (4x400m Squad): 3:03.19
- National Ranking: No. 13
- Part of No. 1 all-time 4x400m relay squad at BYU
