Garnica second in 5,000-meters at Washington, Heptathlon begins in Provo

PROVO, Utah – No. 25 BYU men’s track and field kicked off this weekend’s competition with the heptathlon and 5,000-meters at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo and Washington’s Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational.

Four Cougars in Washington took part in the 5,000m race. They joined fourteen athletes from Stanford, Colorado, Portland, UCLA, Oregon, Washington State and No. 2 Washington. Brandon Garnica finished second overall with a 13:33.65 time, just behind Stanford’s first-place Devin Hart (13:29.31). Hart is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation in the event.

Creed Thompson crossed the line at 13:38.81 to tally a top-five finish at fifth. James Corrigan registered a 10th-place performance in his first collegiate 5,000m race (13:58.66) while Joey Nokes came next at 11th with a 14:02.57 finish. Nokes entered this weekend No. 17 in the nation for the 5,000m after his 13:29.30 performance on Feb. 11 in Boston.

In the heptathlon, Ben Barton and Dallin Vorkink completed four events at the Smith Fieldhouse: the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put and high jump. Barton recorded a new personal-best for the 60m with a 6.89 finish. His prior personal 60m best came just last week in his No. 2 all-time heptathlon performance as he posted a 6.93 time.

With two weeks until indoor nationals, Barton's overall heptathlon score of 5,693 at last week's MPSF Championship is No. 20 in the country.

The Cougars return to action tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m. MST with the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at the Smith Fieldhouse.