Cougars secure 21 entries to NCAA Championships

SACRAMENTO – BYU track and field totaled 21 national qualifiers as the Cougars wrapped up competition at the NCAA West Preliminaries on Saturday.

"Perfect ending to what was really a perfect meet," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "Rickey Fantroy Jr. coming through in the triple jump really shows that people rise up when given the opportunity. The coaches did a great job getting the athletes ready for this meet. It's the best first round that we've come to and it bodes well for the NCAA Championships."

Rickey Fantroy Jr. jumped a career-best 15.55m/51-0.25 to obtain the final qualifying spot in the triple jump. The junior's mark moves him onto the school record board to No. 8 all-time at BYU.

Whittni Orton will make her third-straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 1500m. The All-American earned an automatic qualifying bid as well as a career-best 4:13.58 after taking second in her heat. Orton's new personal record improves her hold on the fourth-best 1500m time in BYU history. Kate Hunter ran a personal-best 4:18.14 and Olivia Hoj finished in 4:21.64 in the same heat as Orton.

A year after missing the 2018 NCAA Championships by one qualifying spot, Talem Franco secured his spot to the 2019 NCAA Championships with a personal-record 3:42.15 in the 1500m quarterfinal. The junior also improved his position as No. 9 all-time at BYU in the 1500m.

Two days after qualifying for the 10,000m, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 5000m. Mantz (13:48.69) and Young (14:07.98) both automatically qualified after finishing in the top five in their respective heats.

The BYU men's 4x400m relay team were the last Cougars to punch tickets to Nationals. The squad clocked a season-best 3:06.67 to earn the bid to the NCAA Championships. The squad consisted of Abram Schaap, Blake Ellis, Colten Yardley and Michael Bluth.

Jefferson Jarvis finished up his BYU career with a solid performance in the shot put. The senior's first toss of the day ended up being his best with a mark of 18.22m/59-9.

The women's 4x100m relay team matched its season best with a time of 44.95. The team consisted of Haley Rogers, Ellie Heiden-Quackenbush, Lauren Rawlinson and Jaslyn Gardner.

The Cougars that qualified will travel to Austin, Texas, for the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 5-8. General information for that meet can be found on ncaa.org. Final results from the NCAA West Prelims can be found here. Recaps for the first and second days of competition can be found here.

Thursday's Results, May 23

Event	Athlete	Mark	Finish	Next Up
Hammer (M)	Jacob Foutz	61.11m/200-6	27th	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Javelin (W)	Sydnie Martindale	43.43m/142-6	33rd	DNQ
Javelin (W)	Payge Cuthbertson	40.48m/132-10	45th	DNQ
High Jump (W)	Andrea Stapleton-Johnson	1.80m/5-10.75	5th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
High Jump (W)	Lindsay Yetter-Shirley	NH	DNP	DNQ
400m Hurdles (W)	Brenna Porter	57.99	5th	Quarterfinal - See Friday's Results
400m Hurdles (W)	Kaitlyn Gunnerson-Burrup	59.71	24th	DNQ
400m Hurdles (M)	Colten Yardley	51.38	22nd	Quarterfinal - See Friday's Results
Pole Vault (M)	Jameson Shirley	4.96m/16-3.25	33rd	DNQ
1500m (W)	Whittni Orton	4:16.69	4th	Quarterfinal - See Saturday's Results
1500m (W)	Olivia Hoj	4:18.40	11th	Quarterfinal - See Saturday's Results
1500m (W)	Kate Hunter	4:18.91	13th	Quarterfinal - See Saturday's Results
1500m (W)	Alissa Fielding	4:29.02	39th	DNQ
1500m (W)	Madey Brooks-Dickson	4:34.31	46th	DNQ
1500m (M)	Talem Franco	3:44.67	4th	Quarterfinal - See Saturday's Results
1500m (M)	Marcus Dickson	3:45.42	17th	DNQ
100m (W)	Jaslyn Gardner	11.88	40th	DNQ
400m (M)	Michael Bluth	46.30	7th	Quarterfinal - See Friday's Results
800m (W)	Anna Camp-Bennett	2:05.74	2nd	Quarterfinal - See Friday's Results
800m (W)	Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes	2:07.30	11th	Quarterfinal - See Friday's Results
800m (W)	Karina Haymore	2:09.37	36th	DNQ
10,000m (M)	Rory Linkletter	28:59.43	1st	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Connor McMillan	29:00.49	4th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Conner Mantz	29:00.50	5th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Clayton Young	29:00.77	8th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Dallin Farnsworth	29:01.08	10th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Connor Weaver	29:02.15	11th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
10,000m (M)	Danny Carney	29:23.17	19th	DNQ
10,000m (M)	Michael Ottesen	29:31.59	23rd	DNQ
10,000m (M)	Brayden McLelland	30:12.73	41st	DNQ

Friday, May 24

Event	Athlete	Mark	Finish	Next Up
Javelin (M)	Cameron Bates	67.03m/219-11	14th	DNQ
Javelin (M)	Kraymer Eppich	64.44m/211-5	24th	DNQ
Javelin (M)	Matt Kitchen	57.18m/187-7	40th	DNQ
Discus (M)	Jacob Foutz	51.59m/169-3	40th	DNQ
Pole Vault (W)	Elise Romney	4.17m/13-8.25	18th	DNQ
400m (M)	Michael Bluth	46.01	13th	DNQ
800m (W)	Anna Camp-Bennett	2:03.69	6th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
800m (W)	Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes	2:05.10	13th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
400m Hurdles (W)	Brenna Porter	56.98	4th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
400m Hurdles (M)	Colten Yardley	51.58	19th	DNQ
200m (W)	Jaslyn Gardner	24.83	44th	DNQ
200m (M)	Derek Sorensen	21.07	30th	DNQ
3000m Steeplechase (W)	Erica Birk-Jarvis	9:42.54	2nd	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
3000m Steeplechase (W)	Emma Gee	10:04.84	15th	DNQ
3000m Steeplechase (W)	Maddie Cannon	10:16.03	26th	DNQ
3000m Steeplechase (W)	Sara Musselman	10:40.13	45th	DNQ
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Kenneth Rooks	8:36.08	4th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Clayson Shumway	8:36.25	5th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Jacob Heslington	8:39.58	7th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Matt Owens	8:39.95	10th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Garrett Marsing	9:02.66	31st	DNQ
3000m Steeplechase (M)	Adam Wood	9:15.68	39th	DNQ

Saturday, May 25

Event	Athlete	Mark	Finish	Next Up
Shot Put (M)	Jefferson Jarvis	18.22m/59-9.5	28th	DNQ
High Jump (M)	Jared Lorimier	2.01m/6-7	37th	DNQ
High Jump (M)	AJ Beynon	NH	DNP	DNQ
Women's 4x100m	Haley Rogers Ellie Heiden-Quackenbush Lauren Rawlinson Jaslyn Gardner	44.95	15th	DNQ
Men's 4x100m	Rickey Fantroy Jr. Derek Sorensen Andrew Stuart Abram Schaap	41.12	19th	DNQ
1500m (W)	Whittni Orton	4:13.58	9th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
1500m (W)	Kate Hunter	4:18.14	16th	DNQ
1500m (W)	Olivia Hoj	4:21.64	18th	DNQ
1500m (M)	Talem Franco	3:42.15	10th	Semifinal in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
Triple Jump (M)	Rickey Fantroy Jr.	15.55m/51-0.25	12th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
5000m (W)	Courtney Wayment	16:35.34	36th	DNQ
5000m (M)	Conner Mantz	13:48.69	5th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
5000m (M)	Clayton Young	14:07.98	21st	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)
5000m (M)	Brandon Garnica	14:37.24	42nd	DNQ
Women's 4x400m	Haley Rogers Ellie Heiden-Quackenbush Lauren Rawlinson Brenna Porter	3:38.32	19th	DNQ
Men's 4x400m	Abram Schaap Blake Ellis Colten Yardley Michael Bluth	3:06.67	11th	Final in Austin, TX (June 5-8)