Four Cougars advance at NCAA Championships

AUSTIN, Texas – Four members of the BYU women's track and field team advanced to their respective finals at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday.

"It was a great continuation from what we saw during the first day of competition," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "I loved the way our women rose to the occasion and fought to secure spots in their finals. Then for Brian to finish 11th and PR after being the last decathlete to qualify was a great way to end the day."

All-American Whittni Orton (4:14.37) started things off in the women's 1500m finishing fifth in her heat to secure an automatic bid to the final on Saturday. This marks the third-straight outdoor season the junior has appeared in the 1500m at the NCAA Championships.

Following immediately after Orton, All-American Erica Birk-Jarvis earned her spot in the 3000m steeplechase final. The junior placed third in her heat with a time of 9:52.43 to clinch her spot in Saturday's race.

All-American Anna Camp-Bennett advanced to the women's 800m final with a career-best 2:03.65. Camp-Bennett claimed the second of two time-based qualifying spots. All-American Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes crossed the finish line in 2:04.52 to finish fourth in her 800m heat. The sophomore did not qualify for the final and will finish 11th overall in the 800m at the NCAA Championships

In the women's 400m hurdles, Brenna Porter (57.03) had the fifth-fastest time overall and will make her first appearance in the event's final at the NCAA Championships. After finishing 18th overall at last year's NCAA Championships, the senior will place no lower than eighth as she completes her BYU career on Saturday.

Brian Matthews concluded the decathlon with a strong performance in the last five events to earn a career-best 7394 points. The junior took 11th place overall after entering the meet as the No. 24 decathlete.

Matthews began the day matching his career best in the 110m hurdles (15.00) before throwing a personal record in the discus by more than two meters (39.88m/130-10). Matthews cleared 4.21m/13-9.25 in the pole vault before earning another personal best with a throw of 58.00m/190-3 in the javelin. The junior concluded the day running 4:46.63 in the 1500m.

"He stayed within himself and did what knows he can do," BYU associate head coach Mark Robison said. "He focused on executing and not worrying about others. I couldn't ask for more than a PR."

The BYU men's team will complete competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships tomorrow, June 6. The Cougars head into the final day in third place with 21 points. Information on the BYU athletes competing tomorrow can be found in the tables below.

ESPN will continue to provide primary broadcast coverage of the four-day meet. A full schedule listing what events will be broadcast on which ESPN network can be found here. Live results and general meet information can be found on ncaa.org. Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter or @byutrackfieldxc on Instagram for team updates throughout the meet.

• DAY ONE RECAP

Wednesday, June 5

Thursday, June 6

Friday, June 7

Saturday, June 8