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SALT LAKE CITY — Dallin Shurts made sure to save the final throw of his senior season for his best — a heave of the discus that clinched first-team All-American honors and another top-10 finish at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Shurts spun a final throw of 59.04 meters (193 feet, 8 inches) to cap his senior season with an eighth-place finish and first-team All-American honors in the men's discus Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
With his final throw, Shurts — who finished seventh at the 2023 NCAA outdoor championships — secured first-team All-American honors for the second time in his career. He's the second thrower from BYU to finish with a top-10 finish after Danny Bryant placed fourth in the shot put Wednesday night.
The senior from Banks, Oregon, holds the school record in the discus with a throw of 66.56 meters (218-5) that he threw while competing unattached at the Throw Town Meet.
Florida nipped Auburn for the Gators' third consecutive team title by one point, 41-40. USC (33), Alabama (32) and Texas A&M (31) rounded out the top five. BYU totaled just 7 points, tied for 40th with South Carolina in the Cougars' lowest team total since 2018.
"I'm super pleased with all of the groups today," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "Coach (Nik) Arrhenius has done an awesome job with Dallin and our throws group overall. To have all three throwers earn First Team All-American status is big time.
"We are redshirting some people on the distance side this year, but I'm proud of the efforts of those that came here today. It's all about just getting experience with coming to the big meet to become that much stronger next year. It also nice to have a well-balance program because on the years that one group might be down, the other group can rise up. That's what our throwers did and it helped our program as a whole."
Last one, best one 🫶
— BYU Track & Field/Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) June 8, 2024
Senior, Dallin Shurts, throws a distance of 59.04M/193'8" in his final throw, placing 8TH IN THE NATION and securing his final first-team All-American status
📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/TBTyeIaDgZ
Racing in his first NCAA championship, BYU's James Corrigan finished ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final with a time of 8:29.61. The sophomore earned first-team All-American honors after failing to advance to the national championships in the 5,000-meter run a year ago by a half-second.
The Big 12 champion and conference record holder fell just short of his personal-best 8:28.84 achieved in Wednesday's semifinals. But Georgetown's Parker Stokes was nearly five seconds clear of Corrigan, finishing in 8:24.58 to become the first Hoya steeplechase champion since 1972.
With the top-10 finish, Corrigan earned second-team All-American honors for the first time in his career.
"James ran well tonight. He was within a second of his personal best," said Kenneth Rooks, the national champion in the event from BYU who turned pro in January after an inspiring run at the U.S. championships. "I am proud of James for going all in on the steeple this year because he was able to discover a lot about himself. Finishing ninth is hard because it is one spot out of being a first-team All American and I know he wanted that. But James is really fit right now and he has been very consistent running 8:29-8:28 in back-to-back races. He is going to keep getting faster and I am excited for him."
Running out of the fourth position, Aidan Troutner started strong in the 5,000-meter final but faded down the stretch to finish 20th overall in 14:07.16. North Carolina's Parker Wolfe knocked off NCAA record holder Nico Young of Northern Arizona and defending champion Ky Robinson of Stanford in 13:54.43 to take the individual title.
The run wrapped up All-America honorable mention status for Troutner, a junior from Timpview who clocked the fastest indoor mile in Utah history with a 3:59.2 finish that comes out to 3:54.51 with altitude adjustment. He also shattered a 42-year-old Smith Fieldhouse record with an indoor mile of 4:01.72 in 2023.
Saturday marks the conclusion of the NCAA women's championships, including four athletes from BYU.
Cierra Tidwell Allphin will open in the high jump, beginning at 3 p.m. MDT, just before Gretchen Hoekstre begins the discus at 3:05 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.
Taylor Lovell will run in the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 3:54 p.m. MDT on ESPN, and Sadie Sargent will finish the Cougars' postseason in the 5,000 meters at 5:25 p.m. MDT on ESPN.
