BYU women tie for 25th at NCAA Championships

AUSTIN, Texas – All-Americans Erica Birk-Jarvis and Brenna Porter led BYU women's track and field to a five-way tie for 25th place at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.

FINAL RESULTS

"I was impressed by the grit that the ladies manifested," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "Each of them were tough and fought to the end. It was a really strong showing from our women's team and proves that we really are a top-25 program. I'm very happy for both the men's and women's teams to finish in the top 25." 

The Cougars finished with a combined score of 10 points to tie for 25th with California, Iowa, Texas Tech and UCLA. This is the 27th time the BYU women's team has finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Four Cougars scored for the team by finishing in the top eight in their respective events. It is the first time since 2005 that four or more women's athletes have scored for BYU at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Porter finished her college career with a fifth-place finish in the 400m hurdles. The senior sprinted through the finish line after the final hurdle to pass two competitors and move up to the fifth spot. The All-American clocked 57.26 while earning four points for the team. 

"This is the track that Brenna had her fall at regionals as a sophomore, which kept her out of the NCAA Championships," Eyestone said. "For her to finish fifth at Nationals on the same track is all about redemption and it was very inspiring to witness."

In the women's 3000m steeplechase final, Birk-Jarvis took fifth place with a time of 9:46.47. The All-American junior battled with the lead pack the whole race and overcame stumbling after the final two barriers to score four points for the Cougars.

"Erica maybe could have run a safe race for second, but when a move by the leader was made she decided to respond and you have to respect her for that," Eyestone said. "If it weren't for a little stumble over the last water jump she probably would have ended up in second place."

All-American Whittni Orton got off to an aggressive start to pace the lead pack midway through the women's 1500m final. The junior crossed the finish line eighth overall with a time of 4:14.73 to score one point for the BYU women's team. In her third-straight appearance, this marks Orton's first top-8 finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In the women's 800m final, Anna Camp-Bennett tallied another point for the Cougars as she finished eighth overall. The All-American junior finished in 2:05.93 in the final to complete her outdoor NCAA Championships debut.

Andrea Stapleton-Johnson completed her collegiate career in the women's high jump on Saturday. The All-American cleared the first three heights before failing to clear the fourth height of 1.81m/5-11.25. She finished in ninth place with her last clearance being 1.78m/5-10.

The BYU men had its Championship Day on Friday and ended up finishing eighth overall. The team scored 27 points on its way to the best team finish since 2011 when the Cougars also placed eighth. This year marks the 24th time the BYU men's program has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The 2019 NCAA 10,000m Champion Clayton Young scored 13 points between his first-place finish in the 10,000m combined with his sixth-place effort in the 5000m. A recap of the men's final day of competition can be found on byucougars.com.

• DAY ONE RECAP (Men)
• DAY TWO RECAP (Women/Decathlon)
• DAY THREE RECAP (Men)
• OFFICIAL RESULTS

Wednesday, June 5

Thursday, June 6

Friday, June 7

Saturday, June 8