Men's track and field season concludes NCAA Championships with three First Team All-Americans

EUGENE, Ore. — No. 4 BYU men's track and field finished the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships tied for 39th with three First Team All-Americans as men's finals concluded at Hayward Field on Friday.

Kenneth Rooks recorded a second steeplechase personal-best in three days as he clocked 8:22.56 to take sixth in the distance final. Rooks shaved seven seconds off his personal-best in Wednesday’s semifinal, moving up to No. 2 all-time at BYU. The sophomore from Walla Walla, Washington proceeded to shave off another two seconds on Friday, coming within a second of Henry Marsh’s school record set in 1977.

Despite a move out of the middle pack with two laps to go, Rooks was unable to complete the surge into podium range. Eastern Kentucky’s Ahmed Jaziri won the race at 8:18.70. At sixth, Rooks came in just behind 2020 Australian Olympian Edward Trippas of Princeton.

While Rooks’ collegiate season has ended, the First Team All-American has surpassed qualifying time for the USA Track and Field Championships; held at Hayward Field on June 23-26.

All of this comes with Rooks only a year removed from his full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

BYU senior hurdler Colten Yardley ended his collegiate career with a First Team All-American honor on Friday. 

Yardley clocked 50.10 in the 400-meter hurdles final, striding past James Smith of Texas A&M and New Mexico’s Rivaldo Leacock for a seventh-place finish and first team status.

"Colten has worked his tail off these last five years for that moment," said BYU men's sprints and hurdles coach Kyle Grossarth. "I'm so proud of him for who he is and what he represents. He has left a lasting legacy on our sprints and hurdles program." 

Yardley becomes the Cougars’ first 400m hurdler to achieve First Team All-American since Chris Carter in 2012.

Casey Clinger came in 10th at 13:33.20 in the 5000-meter final, achieving Second Team All-American honors for the second straight season. Olin Hacker of Wisconsin took home the 5000m championship with a time of 13:27.73.

"Both Kenneth and Casey gave us gutsy, inspiring performances tonight," said BYU director of track and field Ed Eyestone. "Kenneth's performance was especially inspiring considering he's still a recently returned missionary and Casey showed great toughness coming back from the grueling 10,000m final on Wednesday." 

With Friday’s 5000m in the books, Clinger concludes a successful distance season spanning from cross country to outdoor track and Tallahassee, Florida to Eugene. Clinger finished eighth at cross country nationals, helping the Cougars finish seventh as a team. Conner Mantz’s 2021 outdoor 5000m school record didn’t stand for long as Clinger replaced it with his own at 13:23.33 on April 14 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Zach McWhorter and Kenneth Rooks each scored three points toward the BYU men’s overall score. Colten Yardley’s seventh-place finish in the 400m hurdles gave the Cougars eight points, tying them for 39th with Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Iowa and Sam Houston in the final NCAA Division I Men’s Outdoor Championship standings.

Florida won the men's national title with 54 points. 

Women's Heptathlon
Senior Halley Folsom Walker began heptathlon events on Friday, starting the afternoon by tying her personal best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.97, placing 14th. She followed that up with a 17th-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.69m/5-6.5.

In the shot put, Folsom Walker placed 13th after tossing a mark of 11.80m/38-8.75. She concluded the night in the 200-meters, clocking a new personal best time of 24.99 to win her heat and finish 10th in the event. With three events remaining, Folsom Walker stands in 15th place with 3,361 points. 

Decathlon Recap

Day 4
The Cougars will conclude NCAA Championship competition on Saturday, beginning with Folsom Walker in heptathlon long jump at 10:30 a.m. PDT. Cierra Tidwell-Allphin (high jump), Sable Lohmeier El-Bakri (discus) and Courtney Wayment (3000m steeplechase) will all compete in the final of their respective events as well.