AUSTIN, Texas – BYU men's track and field took eighth place at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday.

"It was an evening of ups and downs," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "We ended on a high note with Young and Mantz doubling back after the 10K to finish 6-7 in the 5K. This was a great end to an amazing season for our men's team to finish eighth in the nation. Now we look to continue the trend in the future."

The Cougars scored 27 points on their way to finishing eighth overall for their best team-finish since 2011 (8th place). This marks the 24th time BYU has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and the 40th time the Cougars have placed in the top 25.

Two days after finishing top four in the men's 10,000m final, All-Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young scored a combined five points in the 5000m final. This year's 10,000m NCAA Champion, Young finished sixth overall (14:09.00) in the 5000m to complete his senior year at BYU. Mantz completed the duo of distance races placing seventh (14:09.20) in the 5000m after finishing fourth in the 10,000m on Wednesday.

Matt Owens scored one point for the Cougars in the men's steeplechase after taking eighth overall. After leading the pack for the majority of the race, the All-American crossed the finish line in 8:45.40. Clayson Shumway (8:54.45), Kenneth Rooks (9:00.53) and Jacob Heslington (9:02.03) finished 10-12 for the Cougars. The four Cougars also matched an NCAA record for most finalists from one school in the men's steeplechase.

"The steeplechase was an interesting race," Eyestone said. "It was one of those days where the elements had a big impact on a lot of athletes. I’m excited that we had four guys in the final and I'm not disappointed in their effort."

In his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Talem Franco qualified for the men's 1500m final. Franco placed 11th overall in the final with a time of 3:46.20. In the men's triple jump final, Rickey Fantroy Jr. also competed in his first NCAA Championships. The junior fouled his first two attempts before jumping for 15.49m/50-10 to finish in 21st place. 

The BYU women's team will complete competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships tomorrow, June 8. Information on the five 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
• DAY TWO RECAP

Wednesday, June 5

Thursday, June 6

Friday, June 7

Saturday, June 8

PROVO, Utah – No. 4/15 BYU track and field will compete at the 2019 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 5-8.

Full Meet Notes

"I think we're in a good frame of mind," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "It is important to focus on the process and the things that got us here. The athletes recognize the importance of this meet and are focused on getting the job done."

The Cougars secured 21 entries at the NCAA West Preliminaries to go along with decathlete Brian Matthews to total 22 bids to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium in Austin, Texas.

No. 4 BYU men’s track and field

The BYU men’s team has 16 total entries for the third-most men’s bids at Nationals. The men will primarily compete Wednesday, June 5, and Friday, June 7, with the decathlon will taking place June 5-6.

Matthews will start the meet off for the Cougars in the decathlon on Wednesday afternoon in the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m. He’ll finish up on Thursday with the 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.

The NCAA record-breaking six BYU 10,000m runners will race in their final Wednesday night and will make up one-fourth of the field. Dallin Farnsworth, Rory Linkletter, Conner Mantz, Connor McMillan, Connor Weaver and Clayton Young combined to break the NCAA record for most entries in a single event from one school. The previous record was set by BYU in 1975 when the team sent five decathletes to the NCAA Championships.

Jacob Heslington, Matt Owens, Kenneth Rooks and Clayson Shumway will run in the men’s 3000m steeplechase semifinal on Wednesday. Talem Franco will compete in the men’s 1500m semifinal on Wednesday to give the Cougars 11 men’s distance runners at Nationals.

The men’s 4x400m will finish up Wednesday’s competition with their semifinal. The relay team consists of Michael Bluth, Blake Ellis, Abram Schaap and Colten Yardley. All qualifiers from the semifinals will race again on Friday.

On Friday, Rickey Fantroy Jr. will compete in the men’s triple jump final. Fantroy Jr. qualified for the NCAA Championships with a career-best 15.55m/51-0.25 on his final attempt to secure the final entry.

Mantz and Young double-qualified for the NCAA Championships and will race in the men’s 5000m final Friday evening. This is the third-straight outdoor season that Young has double-qualified for Nationals in both the 5000m and 10,000m.

No. 15 BYU women’s track and field

The BYU women’s team enters the meet with six total bids at the NCAA Championships. The women will primarily compete Thursday, June 6, and Saturday, June 8.

Five Cougars will compete in their respective semifinals on Thursday. Whittni Orton will make her third-straight appearance in the women’s 1500m at the NCAA Championships and will be followed by Erica Birk-Jarvis in the 3000m steeplechase. Anna Camp-Bennett and Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes will run in the 800m semifinal before Brenna Porter will cap off the evening in the 400m hurdles. For those that advance, all four finals will take place on Saturday.

Andrea Stapleton-Johnson will compete in the women’s high jump final Saturday. The senior enters the meet ranked No. 1 in the NCAA this season with a clearance of 1.89m/6-2.25.

The table below contains a more detailed schedule of when the Cougars compete. ESPN will provide primary broadcast coverage for 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.

Wednesday, June 5

Thursday, June 6

Friday, June 7

Saturday, June 8

* -- If qualified