Eight Cougars earn All-America honors at NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. — Andrea Stapleton-Johnson received All-America honors on the final day of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday to increase BYU track and field’s total to eight this season.

"We did a very good job of getting a lot of athletes to the National Championships," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "I’m proud of the all the hard work the staff and athletes have gone through this year. With most of our national-qualifying athletes returning next year, I’m looking forward to taking the next step of scoring more points next year."

Stapleton-Johnson was the only BYU athlete that competed on Saturday and cleared 1.78m (5' 10") in the women's high jump final to finish tied for eighth as well as earn first-team All-America honors. The junior high jumper was the lone scorer (0.5 points) for the BYU women’s team, leading them to finish tied for 67th overall in the national meet.

"Andrea put together a very clutch third-attempt clearance in a rainstorm to clinch first-team All-America honors," Eyestone said. "I was proud of her positive attitude in some less than ideal conditions. We are excited to have her back next season and we know the future is bright for Andrea."

Senior Kevin Nielsen finished his career at BYU in an impressive manner in the decathlon on Wednesday and Thursday, scoring the fifth-most points (7,695 points) in BYU history to finish in eighth place. The decathlete received first-team All-America honors and scored one point for BYU while earning career-bests in the 100m (10.93), shot put (12.75m - 41' 10"), and javelin (50.63m – 166’ 1”) along with season-bests in the long jump (7.42m - 24’ 4.25”), high jump (2.01m - 6’ 7”), 400m (49.30) and 1500m (4:28.70).

Connor McMillan was named a second-team All-American in the men's 10000m final on Wednesday after finishing in 12th place with a time of 29:32.65. Ashton Riner received second-team All-America honors on Thursday after taking 11th in the women's javelin final with a throw of 50.25m (164’ 10”).

On Friday, Matt Owens took sixth (8:38.09) and Clayson Shumway (8:40.15) placed seventh in the men's 3000m steeplechase final to add five points to the men's score. The two steeplechasers were named first-team All-Americans in their first appearances at the NCAA Championships. Rory Linkletter took eighth place in the 5000m to score one point for the men's team and was named a first-team All-American while Clayton Young finished 12th overall to receive second-team All-America honors.

The BYU men's team concluded competition Friday night at the NCAA Championships with seven points and finishing tied for 40th.

Links of note:
Day One Recap
Day Two Recap
Day Three Recap
Results

Wednesday's Results

Thursday's Results

Friday's Results

Saturday's Results