BYU’s Danny Bryant, a sophomore from California, finished fourth in the shot put on the opening day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday in Eugene, Ore.
Bryant produced a personal-record throw of 65 feet, 8 1/4 inches to earn All-American honors, scoring points for BYU in the team race.
Meanwhile, Cameron Bates picked up one point for BYU with an eighth-place finish in the javelin, throwing 236 feet, 6 inches. Weber State’s Josh Trafny finished in 23rd place.
Utah State’s Logan Hammer, a sophomore from Idaho, was 16th in the pole vault with a clearance of 17 feet, 1 1/2 inches.
“It seems to be a pattern that I follow to earn a new personal best on my last throw,” said Bryant, who failed to qualify for this meet the previous two years. “I did that two weeks ago (at the NCAA West prelims). I had gone to regionals every year and felt I choked the past two years. When I made it to nationals this year, I was just psyched and ready to bring everything I had.”
“After struggling on his first two attempts, he was able to throw a new personal best to put himself into seventh and be able to get three more throws,” says coach Nik Arrhenius. “After two more throws where he struggled, he was able to put together the throw we’ve been waiting for and throw over the 20-meter barrier, which is huge in shot put.”
Most of Wednesday’s competition consisted of semifinals. BYU’s James Corrigan had the fastest time of the day in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing with a personal-record time of 8:28.84.
BYU’s Kenneth Rooks won the steeplechase in last year’s NCAA championships but he joined the professional ranks rather than return to defend his title this season.
Corrigan’s teammate, Wyatt Haughton, and Southern Utah’s Hayden Harward also competed in the steeplechase semifinals but failed to advance.
Two other BYU entries failed to advance. Sebastian Fernandez finished the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.43, the 20th fastest of the day, and the 4 x 400 relay team of Eli Hazlett, Abram Schaap, Jace Jensen and Trey Jackson clocked a time of 3:07.46 to finish 18th.
The men will have Thursday off as the women take the stage for their own semifinals competition. The finals will be held Friday for the men and Saturday for the women.