Two athletes move on after first day of NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Oregon – Shaquille Walker and Aaron Fletcher advance to the finals in their respective events after the first day of the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“It was a good day for us having two people advance to the finals,” BYU track and field head coach Ed Eyestone said. “That was the theme for the day, to have people move on to the finals. Then we had some other really nice performances that led to three athletes getting 16th and getting second-team All-American. We are really proud of them.”

Walker (800m) and Fletcher (3000m steeplechase) will both compete in the finals in their respective events. Walker clinched a spot in the 800m by winning his heat with a time of 1:47.45. Fletcher finished second in his heat to secure a spot in the finals in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:36.81.

Chase Horrocks competed in the 1500m and posted a time of 3:44.79 that failed to qualify him for the next round. Jesse White was not able to get a qualifying time in the 400m run to move onto the finals. Connor McMillan raced in the finals for the 10,000m run placing 16th overall with a time of 29:40.65. All three of these athletes placed high enough to garner second-team All-America honors, which will be announced by the USTFCCCA following the completion of the championships.

The men’s 4x400m relay team placed 21st overall in the semifinal with a time of 3:09.30. The team will not move onto the finals this weekend.

Jackson Walker competed in five decathlon events on Wednesday – the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m. He will complete the remaining events with the 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin and the 1500m on Thursday.

Shea Martinez-Collinsworth will compete in the women’s 800m semifinal on Thursday, June 9, at 6:14 p.m PST. Zachary Blackham will compete in the high jump finals on Friday, June 10, at 5:00 p.m PST.

Walker will compete in the 800m finals on Friday, June 10, at 6:45 p.m PST and Fletcher will compete in the 3000m steeplechase finals on Friday, June 10, at 5:54 p.m PST.