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EUGENE, Ore. — On a day when the women’s programs took center stage at “Track Town USA,” two local athletes blazed into the finals of their respective events at the NCAA track and field championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Utah’s Grayson Murphy posted a time of 9 minutes, 53.04 seconds in the first heat of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase to finish third Thursday and book a spot in Saturday’s final. The junior who played soccer at West High holds the university record in the steeplechase with a time of 10:04.35 in her first season at Utah after transferring from Santa Clara.
BYU’s Kristi Rush-Briggs and Weber State’s Ellie Child did not qualify for the steeplechase final from the second heat. Child had a spot in the top-three of her heat Thursday through four laps of the seven-lap race.
PR of 9:53.04 for Grayson Murphy in the 3,000 steeplechase @NCAA Champs, finishing 3rd in her heat to qualify for Saturday finals! #goutespic.twitter.com/1fVK47lr9R
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) June 9, 2017
But with three laps remaining, Child slipped off the platform and tumbled through the water into last place and couldn’t recover.
Shea Martinez-Collinsworth finished fourth in her heat in the 800-meter semifinals, but her time of 2:04.30 qualified for Saturday’s final for the second-straight year. Collinsworth boasts the fourth-best 800 time in the nation, and finished third in last year’s final with a time of 2:02.83.
Texas A&M’s Lindon Victor won the men’s decathlon in the only men’s event with local ties that crowned a champion Thursday. BYU’s Jackson Walker finished 19th with a total score of 6,821 points.
For complete results, visit ncaa.com.
