Where every track and field athlete from Utah finished at the US Olympic trials

TOKYO BOUND — Two more BYU athletes wrapped up the Cougars' run at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday in Eugene, Oregon.

Conner Mantz and teammate Casey Clinger finished eighth and 12th, respectively, in the men's 5,000-meter final Sunday morning at historic Hayward Field.

Mantz, the reigning NCAA cross country champion who prepped at Sky View, moved up from 11th with four laps to go and briefly led the pack. That pace, which has often been described as "the Mantz zone," helped propel Nike's Paul Chelimo to first in 13:26.82 seconds.

Nike's Grant Fisher finished second in 13:27.01 and Woody Kindcaid rounded out the three-man Olympic squad in the event in 13:27.13.

Mantz finished in 13:32.69 for his second top-eight finish at the U.S. trials. He also finished fifth in the 10,000-meter final.

Clinger, the former American Fork standout and Gatorade national runner of the year in high school, finished in 13:50.20.

Former Utah State heptathlete Chari Hawkins finished sixth in the multi-sport event with a 6,236 points — a career-best for the 2015 Aggie alum who competes professionally.

Annie Kunz accumulated a personal-best 6,703 points to take the heptathlon title at the trials event. The only unattached athlete in the field held off Nike's Kendell Williams (6,683) and Nike's Eric Bougard (6,667) for the top spot on the three-woman U.S. squad for the Summer Games.

Hawkins opened the heptathlon in 13.18 seconds to place seventh in the 100-meter hurdles — .01 seconds off her personal-best time. She then tied for second in the high jump — her best event — clearing a mark of 6-0 1/2, a personal record.

The Rexburg, Idaho, native added two more personal-best marks, finishing fifth in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 45-5 1/4 and adding a seventh-place finish in the 200 in a personal-record 24.36. She also leapt 19-6 1/4 for 11th in the long jump.

Hawkins, who placed 12th in the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, wrapped up the heptathlon with a sixth-play throw for 137-6 in the javelin and 12th-place finish in the 800 in 2:18.67.

Day 7 — Former BYU runner, new mom finishes 14th in 10,000M final

Makenna Myler's dream of an Olympic berth came up short Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Just being among the hopefuls was a huge accomplishment.

Myler, a Heber City native who lives in Highland, finished 14th overall in the U.S. finals of the 10,000-meter run with a time of 32 minutes, 44.72 seconds.

The former BYU distance runner started off in the 41st position of the race, and quickly settled into the back of the pack during formation. Myler jumped up as high as 12th in the race, but fell back before her 3:20.27 kick in the final 1,000 meters.

The Run Elite Program-sponsored runner was running in the trials just seven months after giving birth to her first child. She qualified with a time of 32:0332 in the 10 at the Portland Track Festival, and caught fire with her 5:25 mile at nine months pregnant to capture the attention of much of the nation.

"Let me be clear: I was never training for any specific times during my pregnancy," she told KSL.com recently. "It was all about effort and feel, and mostly getting in mileage and time on my feet. Every week or two, I'd throw in a workout, (tempo, interval, all-out mile) just because it was fun for me mentally. I was training to train again after giving birth."

Myler was the only Utah native running in Saturday's penultimate day of the U.S. Olympic trials. New Balance's Emily Sisson set a meet record in winning the 10,000 in 31:03.82, while Nike's Karissa Schweizer (31:16.52) and On Athletics' Alicia Monson (31:18.55) rounded out the three-person Olympic team.

BYU teammates Conner Mantz and Casey Clinger will help close out the Olympic trials Sunday, when the duo will race in the finals of the 5,000-meter run Sunday morning at 11 a.m. MT.

Day 6 — USU's Maggard, BYU's Franco fall in 1,500M prelims

As the U.S. track and field Olympic trials approaches the final weekend in "Track Town, USA," also known as Eugene, Oregon, several former and current Utah athletes reached for their shot on the United States' team for Tokyo.

Each fell short Friday.

Utah State alumnus Dillon Maggard and BYU's Talem Franco failed to qualify out of the men's 1,500-meter final. Maggard finished 20th overall in 3:45.91, while Franco, who prepped at Wasatch, finished 21st in 3:46.37.

Weber State's Kate Sorensen, a Gunnison native, finished 20th in the women's 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 58.45 seconds in her first-round heat.

BYU javelin thrower Ashton Riner finished 20th in his qualifying round with a heave of 153-3. Zack Blackham, a former BYU high jumper who prepped at Orem, cleared 7-0 1/4 for 17th in the high jump.

Day 5 — BYU's Courtney Wayment's 'gutsy' steeplechase final one spot short of Tokyo

BYU harrier Courtney Wayment turned in a personal-best time in Thursday's finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

It was oh-so-close to earning a spot on the Olympic team.

Wayment used a furious kick to finish with a personal record-setting time of 9:23.09 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, missing the top-three and a berth in the Tokyo Summer Games by one spot.

The Davis High alum broke her own school record with the final mark, which also ranks third all-time on the all-dates, all-collegiate list, according to BYU.

"Gutsy performance in the most pressure filled athletic arena," BYU track and cross country coach Ed Eyestone said of Wayment's performance on Twitter. "She made us all proud to be a Cougar!"

Emma Coburn won the event with a meet-record time of 9:09.41, followed by fellow returning Olympian Courtney Frerichs in 9:11.79. The world-champion Coburn smashed her previous U.S. trials-best time by nearly 8 seconds to qualify for her third Olympic games.

Joining the two on the three-member Olympic squad is Val Constien, who turned in a personal-best time of her own in 9:18.34 to edge Wayment for the final spot in Tokyo.

Utah alum Grayson Murphy, a professional trail runner for Saucony who prepped at West, finished sixth in 9:25.55.

Weber State's Summer Allen, who ran for Orem, finished 11th in 9:40.22.

In earlier preliminary rounds, BYU cross country teammates Casey Clinger and Conner Mantz both advanced to the finals of the men's 5,000-meter run.

Clinger, an American Fork product, finished eighth in his heat and eighth overall with a time of 13:39.27. Mantz, the Sky View product and reigning NCAA cross country national champion, was ninth in 13:39.31.

The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. MT.

BYU's Talem Franco and Utah State alum Dillon Maggard each qualified for the semifinals of the men's 1,500-meter run.

Both local harrier qualified on time, with Franco finish seventh in his heat (15th overall) with a time of 3:40.58. Maggard, who runs professionally for Hoka One One, finished 17th overall in 3:40.93.

BYU alumnus Abraham Alvarado finished 29th in 3:47.88.

The semifinals will be held Friday at 5:05 p.m. MT, with the finals scheduled for Sunday at 5:40 p.m. MT.

BYU's Lauren Barnes finished 36th in women's 800-meter first round with a time of 2:05.59. Cougar teammate Claire Seymour was 38th in 2:06.67.

BYU's Colten Yardley, who prepped at Syracuse, finished sixth in his heat in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.32 seconds.

Day 4 — BYU's Marsing, Weber's Cross fall in steeplechase prelims

Two more local distance runners fell in their bid for a spot on the U.S. track and field roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Monday evening at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Former Weber State harrier Jordan Cross, who runs professionally for Tracksmith, narrowly missed qualifying for the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals. The Ogden High product finished 17th with a time of 8:35.58, just two seconds behind Oregon's Jackson Mestler, who took the final qualification spot in 16th place.

Cross, who finished sixth in his heat, missed out on going through to Friday's final by finishing outside the top five in his heat. The next four fastest runners also qualified for the final.

BYU All-American Garrett Marsing finished 11th in his heat with a time of 8:53.37. The senior from Carbon High School finished two seconds off his qualifying mark for 25th overall.

The Olympic Trials will adjourn for a break until Thursday, when the final of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase will feature three local runners in BYU's Courtney Wayment, Weber State's Summer Allen and Utah alum Grayson Murphy. Preliminary rounds in the women's javelin throw, men's long jump, men's 200-meter dash, men's 110-meter hurdles, women's 800-meter run, men's 400-meter hurdles, women's 400-meter hurdles, men's 1,500-meter run and women's 200-meter dash will also be held.

Among those scheduled to compete are BYU products Talem Franco and Abraham Alvarado alongside Utah State alum Dillon Maggard in the 1,500; BYU's Claire Seymour and Lauren Ellsworth in the 800; and BYU's Conner Mantz and Casey Clinger in the 5,000 meter.

Day 3 — Utah's Murphy, BYU's Wayment finish 1-2 in steeplechase semifinal

BYU distance runner Courtney Wayment and Utah alumnus Grayson Murphy stole the show on the third day of the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Murphy and Wayment finished 1-2 in the first heat of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, each earning an Olympic standard and qualifying for Thursday's finals with a shot at the U.S. Olympic team.

Murphy, the former West High soccer player who runs professionally for Saucony, clocked a heat-winning time of 9:25.37. The former University of Utah All-American finished just ahead of Wayment, the BYU runner from Davis High who finished in 9:27.17 as both automatically qualified for the finals.

New Balance athlete Emma Coburn, a Colorado alumna, posted the best time of the preliminary rounds with a Heat 2-winning time of 9:21.32. Leah Falland of On Athletics Club finished second in Coburn's heat — and second overall — in 9:23.36, followed by Murphy, Wayment and Bowerman Track Club's Courtney Frerichs (9:27.75).

Weber State All-American Summer Allen, who prepped at Orem High, finished seventh in Coburn's heat (14th overall) at 9:38.61, qualifying for the final spot in Thursday's final by 3 seconds.

The 3,000-meter steeplechase final is scheduled for Thursday night at 9:47 p.m. MDT.

Earlier Sunday, Syracuse High alum Hunter Woodhallearned his second bid for the Tokyo Paralympics with a first-place finish in the 400-meter T62 finals. The two-time Paralympic silver medalist who runs collegiately at Arkansas posted a time of 49.9 seconds.

Day 2 — BYU champs out in 1,500 women's semifinals

Both NCAA championAnna Camp-Bennett and BYU teammate Whittni Orton failed to make it out o the women's 1,500-meter semifinals. Orton clocked a time of 4:10.70 for 14th in the semifinals, while Camp Bennett was 16th in 4:12.05.

Former Weber State star Tawnie Moore finished 24th in the first round of the 100-meter hurdles, claiming a season-best time of 13.23.

BYU All-American Zach McWhorter finished 19th in the pole vault, clearing a mark of 17-8 1/2.

Cameron Bates, who owns the BYU school record in the javelin, tossed a preliminary throw of 221 feet, 7 inches to finish 14th in the preliminary round.

Day 1 — BYU's Mantz just misses Olympic team in 10,000M

Conner Mantz just missed out on a berth in the U.S. Olympic team, finishing third in the 10,000-meter finals Friday evening in Eugene, Oregon.

The reigning NCAA cross country champion finished fifth with a time of 27 minutes, 59.37 seconds to finish just outside the top-three guaranteed bids to Tokyo.

Woody Kincaid won the event in 27:53.62, followed by Grant Fisher in 27:54.29 and Joe Klecker in 27:54.90.

Former Utah State All-American Dillon Maggard, who runs professionally for Hoka One One, finished 19th in 28:52.38.

BYU's Michael Bluth finished fifth in his 400-meter heat in 46.05.

BYU alum Abraham Alvarado, who runs professionally for Atlanta Track Club, finished 14th in the 800-meter semifinals with a time of 1:47.46.

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