Track and Field concludes indoor season with home meet finale

PROVO, Utah — BYU track and field athletes concluded the final push toward indoor nationals as the team's February home meet finished at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Day Two

Men's Recap

The BYU men combined to record five first-place finishes on Saturday, highlighted by thrilling finishes in the pole vault and 800m.

Returning First Team All-American Caleb Witsken was headed into Saturday’s meet hovering on the nationals-qualifying bubble with a tie for the 13th-best clearance in the country. Witsken emphatically soared past that mark with a personal-best vault of 5.55m/18-2.5, good for No. 3 all-time at BYU.

According to the most recent USTFCCCA standings, this clears Witsken of South Dakota’s Eerik Haamer for No. 7 nationally and likely punches his ticket to Birmingham.

"Our vault group had a very good weekend," said BYU Director of Track and Field Ed Eyestone. "Caleb is in a solid position to go and score points at nationals and it was outstanding to see Cailee (Faulkner) set that school record on Friday and put herself in position to compete at nationals as a freshman." 

While no other BYU men were in range of national-qualifying times on Saturday, there were plenty of successes to go around.

Cougar teammates Austin Klingler and Kenneth Rooks pounded around the track neck-and-neck in the 800m, culminating in a result that was too close to call. Rooks appeared to gain the upper hand down the final stretch before Klingler flung himself across the finish for a tie at 1:51.76.

The men’s distance success continued with BYU wins in the mile and 3000m. Garrett Marsing took home the top spot in the mile with a time of 4:10.54. Casey Clinger returned from injury to clock a winning time of 7:58.31 in the 3000m, with teammates Brandon Garnica, Aidan Troutner and Zach Jacklin close behind.

Dallin Vorkink set a personal record in the heptathlon scoring as he registered 5618 after winning each of the final three events.

Women's Recap
Lydia Harris kicked off the day for the Cougars in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing second with a time of 9.89.

All four BYU athletes who competed in the 60m trials: Emma Johnson, Dolita Awala-Shaw, Camilla Andam and Catherine Phipps advanced to the final. Andam (7.92) and Phipps (8.12) each set personal bests in the event.

The Cougars filled the top-3 of the mile. Madi Moffitt, who finished first, set a new personal best with a time of 4:56.69. Alissa Fielding and Lizzie Dildine placed second and third, respectively.

Cierra Tidwell-Allphin led BYU in the high jump, where BYU also placed all three athletes in the top-3. Tidwell Allphin finished first, with Christina Blackmon and Maddie Lempka following her.

Kate Thomas won the 400m with a time of 58.28. Chloe Taylor (59.64) and Georgi Ana Wilson (1:05.33) both set personal bests in the event.

In the 60 meter finals, Johnson clocked a 7.75, placing first. Awala-Shaw and Andam followed in third and fourth, respectively.

Anastaysia Davis, Krystie Solomon and Ali Baker finished top-3 in the 800m before the Cougars placed 10 athletes in the top-13 of the 200m. Awala-Shaw placed first with a time of 25.28 while Thomas (26.23), Johnson (26.24) and Andam (26.88) set personal bests.

Women’s distance runners, led by Lexy Halladay, concluded the Invitational for BYU. Halladay’s 9:23.23 was good for first place, and she was joined by Ana Weaver, Haley Johnston, Anna Martin and Julie Sumsion for to mark five Cougars in the top-6.

"We're seeing our athletes record their best performances at the end of the season," Eyestone said. "That's exactly what we hope for." 

In the coming days, BYU will have its qualifiers solidified for NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. After a week of rest, the Cougars will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to compete for national titles on March 11-12.

Day One

Men's Recap
While just four BYU athletes competed on Friday, success was seen across the board with personal records and first-place finishes.

Dallin Vorkink set or tied a personal record in three of the day’s four heptathlon events and took first in each as well. Teammate AJ Beynon followed close behind Vorkink with a second-place finish in the 60m, shot put and high jump. Vorkink leads the heptathlon at 3006 with Beynon in second at 2764.

The multi-events will conclude on Saturday with 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m.

Danny Bryant and Harrison Gould competed in the men’s weight throw and shot put. Bryant finished second in the weight throw to current nationals’ qualifier Charlie Vernoy of Long Beach State. Despite the runner-up standing, Bryant recorded a personal best of 17.20m/56-5.25.

Bryant and Gould finished first and second, respectively, in the shot put with Gould throwing a personal-best 16.45m/53-11.75.

Women's Recap
Freshman pole vaulter Cailee Faulkner highlighted BYU’s success on day one of the Invitational. Shattering her previous personal best by an entire foot, Faulkner set a new school record after clearing 4.36m/14-3.75. Elise Romney’s mark of 4.31m/14-1.75 was the previous best, set in 2020. Fellow freshman Rebekah Ross also set a personal best in the event, clearing 4.12m/13-6.25.

The women’s throwers set a handful of top-10 marks themselves. In the weight throw, senior Leah Thompson (17.34m/56-10.75) and freshman Jayda Lee (17.17m/56-4) both entered the Cougars’ all-time list, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. Sophomore Jessica Thompson moved up from No. 9 to No. 4 all-time in the shot put with a toss of 16.18m/53-1.

Senior Halley Folsom Walker won the pentathlon with 4,109 points, also setting a new personal best in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.72.