It was a big day for current and former BYU athletes at the USA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships Saturday in Eugene, Ore. Besides Kenneth Rooks’ remarkable come-from-behind win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (see main story), former BYU athletes Zach McWhorter and Courtney Wayment finished second and third, respectively, in their events to win a place on the U.S. team that will compete in the world championships next month in Budapest.

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McWhorter, who graduated from BYU last spring, has continued to compete on the professional circuit while being coached by his father Rick, a Provo surgeon and former BYU pole vaulter. He delivered one of the bigger upsets of the day on Saturday, placing second in the pole vault with a personal-record clearance of 19 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

“That was unbelievable,” said BYU field-event coach Mark Robison. “He PR’d twice in the biggest meet of his life.”

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Wayment, another former BYU athlete, led much of the women’s steeplechase final, but with two laps to go she was overtaken by 10-time national champion Emma Coburn, who was then overtaken herself by Krissy Gear in the final homestretch. Gear, a middle-distance runner who has ventured into the steeplechase, raced past Coburn to finish in 9:12.81. Coburn was second in 9:13.60, Wayment third in 9:14.63.

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