BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The women’s distance medley relay (DMR) team placed second and six athletes earned All-American First Team honors on day one of competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday.
“It was a wonderful evening both on the men’s and women’s side,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We had a good start on the men’s side scoring 11 points. On the heels of the men’s 5000m, we saw an outstanding effort by the women’s DMR team to finish second place and get a new school record.”
Whittni Orton competed in the women’s mile, finishing seventh in her heat and 12th overall with a time of 4:41.74. Orton earned second-team All-America honors for her performance on Friday.
Clayton Young, Connor McMillan and Conner Mantz represented the Cougars in the men’s 5000m final. Young set a competitive pace early on and led the pack for the first 2600m of the the race. He ended up taking third overall with a time of 13:45.35. Teammate McMillan followed close behind to clock a time of 13:46.88 for a fourth-place finish. Both Young and McMillan received All-American First Team honors. Mantz earned All-American Second Team honors after finishing 10th overall (13:51.45). The three Cougars will compete tomorrow in the men’s 3000m.
“The men’s 5000m was a great race,” Eyestone said. “We had three very dedicated men in the race that put their best effort forward. They made a strong presence right from the beginning and as the pace picked up late in the race, Young and McMillan responded well and moved up to secure third and fourth.”
The women’s DMR team wrapped up the first day of competition for BYU with a second-place finish and new school record after clocking a time of 10:54.14. Anna Camp ran the 1200m leg in 3:22.85 to give the Cougars a strong advantage. Brenna Porter expanded the lead as she clocked 53.54 in the 400m leg. Lauren Ellsworth ran a 2:06.02 in the 800m leg before handing off the baton to Erica Birk-Jarvis for the final leg. Birk-Jarvis ran the 1600m anchor leg in 4:31.75 to secure the second-place finish overall with a total time of 10:54.14. The women’s DMR team also earned All-America First Team honors.
“Everyone of those young ladies had excellent performances," Eyestone said. "I was impressed with Camp's start to put us in a strong position up front. Porter ran a gutsy 400m leg. Ellsworth had a nice 800 leg and she handed the baton off to Birk-Jarvis in a great position tied with Oregon. Birk-Jarvis finished strong with a new school record.”
The men’s team stands in third place with 11 points scored after Friday’s performances. The women’s team ended the day with eight points to tie for ninth place. Both teams have the opportunity to score tomorrow in the men’s 3000m, women’s 3000m and high jump.
The 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships will continue Saturday, March 9. Andrea Stapleton-Johnson will be the first Cougar to compete at 1 p.m. CST in the high jump. The Championships will be streamed online via ESPN3. The remaining schedule and live stats can be found on ncaa.com. Follow @BYUTFXC on Twitter for team updates from the meet.