BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Courtney Wayment led BYU women's track and field on day one of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Friday, taking home an individual national title in the 5000-meters.
Wayment’s performance was the highlight of the night for BYU, as she won the 5000m with a time of 15:30.17. The senior ran in the front pack of four athletes for the majority of the race before pulling away in the final kilometer, holding off NC State's Katelyn Tuohy and Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat for the first-place finish.
Wayment’s title is the 10th indoor individual title in BYU women’s track and field history. She also becomes the second athlete in program history to earn a second indoor individual title and the first to do so in two different events. Wayment also won the 3000-meters at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Halley Folsom Walker began the day for the Cougars in pentathlon competition. The senior clocked a personal best time of 8.69 in the opening event, the 60-meter hurdles, but found herself at 14th overall heading into the fifth and final event, the 800-meters.
Folsom Walker’s late push in the final turn nearly earned her first place over the overall pentathlon winner, Florida’s Anna Hall, as the two crossed the finish line a mere two milliseconds apart. The 2:08.77 in the 800m and 4,201 overall points were both personal bests for the pentathlete, who jumped from 14th to 5th overall, earning First Team All-American honors.
"She didn't let her national ranking hamper her confidence," BYU Director of Track & Field Ed Eyestone said. "She rose up and had a very strong 800m. Superlative effort on her part."
Claire Seymour left no doubt in the 800m semifinals, finishing first in her heat and overall with a time of 2:03.48. Seymour’s first-place finish earned an automatic qualification to the final, scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CST.
In the distance medley relay, the squad of Carmen Alder, Meghan Hunter, Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes and Kate Hunter placed ninth with a time of 11:06.64, good for Second Team All-American honors.
At the end of day one with six out of the 17 events scored, the BYU women stand in 5th place overall with 14 total points.
Three Cougars will compete on Saturday, March 12th, starting with Cierra Tidwell-Allphin in the high jump at 12:30 p.m. CST. Following Seymour’s 800m final, Wayment will race in the 3000m at 8 p.m. CST.