BYU men place eighth at NCAA Outdoor Championships

AUSTIN, Texas – BYU men's track and field took eighth place at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday.

"It was an evening of ups and downs," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "We ended on a high note with Young and Mantz doubling back after the 10K to finish 6-7 in the 5K. This was a great end to an amazing season for our men's team to finish eighth in the nation. Now we look to continue the trend in the future."

The Cougars scored 27 points on their way to finishing eighth overall for their best team-finish since 2011 (8th place). This marks the 24th time BYU has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and the 40th time the Cougars have placed in the top 25.

Two days after finishing top four in the men's 10,000m final, All-Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young scored a combined five points in the 5000m final. This year's 10,000m NCAA Champion, Young finished sixth overall (14:09.00) in the 5000m to complete his senior year at BYU. Mantz completed the duo of distance races placing seventh (14:09.20) in the 5000m after finishing fourth in the 10,000m on Wednesday.

Matt Owens scored one point for the Cougars in the men's steeplechase after taking eighth overall. After leading the pack for the majority of the race, the All-American crossed the finish line in 8:45.40. Clayson Shumway (8:54.45), Kenneth Rooks (9:00.53) and Jacob Heslington (9:02.03) finished 10-12 for the Cougars. The four Cougars also matched an NCAA record for most finalists from one school in the men's steeplechase.

"The steeplechase was an interesting race," Eyestone said. "It was one of those days where the elements had a big impact on a lot of athletes. I’m excited that we had four guys in the final and I'm not disappointed in their effort."

In his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Talem Franco qualified for the men's 1500m final. Franco placed 11th overall in the final with a time of 3:46.20. In the men's triple jump final, Rickey Fantroy Jr. also competed in his first NCAA Championships. The junior fouled his first two attempts before jumping for 15.49m/50-10 to finish in 21st place. 

The BYU women's team will complete competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships tomorrow, June 8. Information on the five BYU athletes competing tomorrow can be found in the tables below.

ESPN will continue to provide primary broadcast coverage of the four-day meet. A full schedule listing what events will be broadcast on which ESPN network can be found here. Live results and general meet information can be found on ncaa.org. Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter or @byutrackfieldxc on Instagram for team updates throughout the meet.

• DAY ONE RECAP
• DAY TWO RECAP

Wednesday, June 5

Thursday, June 6

Friday, June 7

Saturday, June 8