COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – BYU men’s track and field began its first of three days at the Ralph Lindeman Invitational with four heptathlon events taking place Thursday.

The Cougars were represented by two-time All-American Dallin Vorkink and sophomore Ben Barton. Vorkink, currently third in the nation, placed first in the shot put (13.85m/45-5.25). The performance put him ahead of three fellow top-25 ranked heptathletes (each from Wichita State) – Hudson Bailey, Kolby Caster, and Wyatt Leutzinger.

Barton matched his personal-best in the 60m (6.99) en route to a second-place finish. The Birmingham, Michigan native racked up a top-three placement in the high jump, posting a clearance of 1.98m/6-6 to finish ahead of three top-25 athletes in the field of 12.

Thursday’s heptathlon events included the 60m, long jump, high jump and shot put.

At four events completed, Barton stands at fifth with 2,709 points and Vorkink at sixth with 2,664. The final three heptathlon competitions will resume Friday.

PROVO, Utah - Men's and women's track and field continues its early stretch of the indoor season this upcoming weekend with a meet at Air Force.

Meet Information

*All Times MST

• Thursday, Jan. 19: heptathlon begins at 1:00 pm
• Friday, Jan. 20: men's events begin at 1:30 pm and women's events begin at 12:00 pm.
• Saturday, Jan. 21: men's events begin at 12:00 pm and women's events begin at 11:00 am.
• This is a non-ticketed event. Admission is free of charge.
• Teams competing include:
  • BYU
  • Air Force
  • Colorado
  • Long Beach State
  • Sacramento State
  • Wichita State
  • Cal Poly (women only)
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• Additional Information

Nationally ranked Cougars

After last week’s indoor meet, BYU is now up to 10 athletes ranked in the top-10 nationally in their respective events – six women and four men.

Caleb Witsken leads all Division I men in the pole vault with a record-setting clearance of 5.66m/18-6.75 last week, good for No. 3 all-time at BYU and a new personal best. Aidan Troutner, fresh off breaking a 42 year-old Smith Fieldhouse mile record, is now nationally considered among the “all-conditions best.” His 4:01.72 mile is good for a top-10 time in the nation.

Multi-athlete Dallin Vorkink continues to hold steady at third in the heptathlon after a score of 5,457 at BYU’s first home indoor meet on Dec. 8.

Distance runners Casey Clinger (No. 6) and Kenneth Rooks (No. 8) round out athletes from the men’s team in the top-10 nationally for their performances at the Boston Season Opener on Dec. 3. Clinger broke Conner Mantz’s school record in the 5,000-meters by over 10 seconds with a 13:17.6 time while Rooks set a new personal-best in the 3,000-meters.

Cierra Tidwell Allphin moved into the top-10 in the high jump at No. 6 after last Friday’s performance. She finished atop the women’s high jump with a clearance of 1.84m/6-0.5, good for nearly a foot over the runner-up.

The remaining five nationally-ranked women are built upon strong distance performances in Boston on Dec. 3. Heather Hanson and Taylor Rohatinsky are both in the top-5 in the women’s mile at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

Alena Ellsworth (No. 4) and Meghan Hunter (No. 9) continue their run among the best Division I athletes for their 800-meters Boston Season Opener performances. Lexy Halladay-Lowry is currently at No. 9 after posting a 9:04.76 finish in the 3000m on Dec. 3.

Schedule Update

Distance athletes from the women's team will now compete in the Camel City Invitational, hosted by Wake Forest on Feb. 3-4. Events begin at 1:00 p.m. EST on Fri., Feb. 3 and 10:00 a.m. EST on Sat., Feb. 4.