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EUGENE, Ore. — BYU decathlete Jackson Walker saved his best for last.
The senior track athlete finished seventh in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 36.10 seconds to lift him to a top-20 finish on the concluding day of the decathlon at the NCAA Track and Field championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Walker finished with 7,004 points — just under 200 points off his personal-best score — after the two-day event, good for 19th place overall. Texas A&M’s Lindon Victor won the individual decathlon championship with 8,379 points. Wisconsin’s Zach Ziemek, who started Thursday in the top spot, finished second — just 79 points behind Victor.
Walker’s top-20 finish also earned him honorable mention All-American honors.
Thursday was the first day of competition for the majority of the women’s events, and BYU’s Shea Martinez-Collinsworth posted the top time in the 800-meter semifinals at 2:03.32. The long-striding junior All-American edged out Louisiana State’s Morgan Morgan Schuetz by .07 seconds to take the top lane assignment into Saturday’s finals with hopes of winning a national championship.
Utah State’s Maci Bingham placed 15th in the women’s hammer throw Thursday with a launch of 198 feet, 3 inches. The senior school-record holder earned second-team All-American with the finish.
Five BYU athletes advanced to the final rounds, which will take place Friday and Saturday. In addition to Martinez-Collinsworth, Shaquille Walker will run in the 800-meter final Friday, Rory Linkletter will contest the 5,000-meter final and Zach Blackham will compete in the high jump finals.
Complete results are available on ncaa.com.
