Witt places fourth, Martinez takes seventh at indoor nationals

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jason Witt placed fourth in the 5,000 meters, and Shea Martinez took seventh in the 800 meters for BYU track and field at the NCAA Indoor National Championships this weekend.

"Jason (Witt) ran an amazing race," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "He put himself in a good position and really ran an astonishing last 800 meters to take fourth. Shea (Martinez) ran a personal record just to qualify, and then did a great job in the final, too. She's got two more years and this was an invaluable experience for her."

Witt passed four runners on the final lap of the 5,000 meters. The senior's time of 13:53.64 was good for his highest finish at BYU in an NCAA Championship race.

Martinez qualified for the 800-meter final with a 2:04.40 preliminary time on Friday. In Saturday's final, the sophomore finished seventh with a time of 2:05.75.

Shaquille Walker and Anginae Monteverde also competed for BYU in the championships. Walker narrowly missed qualifying in the 800 meters with a 1:48.99 preliminary time. Monteverde was unable to clear the entrance height in the pole vault.

"Shaquille (Walker) did a nice job in the preliminary," Eyestone said. "He was on target to qualify and just had a little stumble at the end. He had run a nice race up until the end."

BYU track and field begins its outdoor season next Friday in Los Angeles at the USC Trojan Invitational.