After a sensational performance by decathlete Ben Barton the previous two days, the BYU men’s team seemed well positioned heading into Friday’s final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
But then things began to unravel.
Carter Cutting, the NCAA indoor champ, and Trayvon Kitchen, the team’s tremendous freshman talent, scored just one point between them, and the Cougars finished 21st in the team competition with 12 points — 10 of them via Barton’s win in the decathlon on Thursday night.
Cutting was running near the front of the pack late in the 1,500-meter run, but with 200 meters to go, Oregon’s Simeon Birnbaum, the collegiate record holder, made a sudden move that seemed to catch his rivals off guard.
He shot into the lead and gapped the field. Cutting immediately gave chase, and that was probably his undoing. It was an all-or-nothing move and he got almost nothing.
Birnbaum went on to win with a time of 3:36.05. Cutting swung into second place coming off the turn, but in the middle of the homestretch he ran out of gas and was passed repeatedly. He had kicked from too far out and finished eighth in 3:38.10.
As his coach, Ed Eyestone, would say, “If he had played it safer and waited until the homestretch (to kick) he would’ve been running for second. He told me he didn’t want to settle for second so he went after (Birnbaum). He was running harder and earlier than the rest of the field and he was tapped out with 75 meters to go.
“Sometimes when you want to win it costs you second place. No guts no glory, I guess. He went for it, and it cost him a few places. You can’t knock the effort.”
Later in the evening, Kitchen, who set a school record of 13:16.16 in the 5,000-meter run earlier this season, delivered a similarly gutty effort that probably cost him points as well.
With less than four laps to go, three-time NCAA champion Habtom Samuel bolted into the lead and Kitchen gave chase, sliding into second place.
It was a bold move for a freshman, but Kitchen, a strong kicker, appeared to be in good position for a high place – until he was knocked off the track with a little less than three laps to go.
He took two or three strides on the infield and then tried to regain his momentum, but he never really recovered.
Samuel, a junior from New Mexico and Eritrea, was the winner, clocking 13:38.93. Kitchen faded to 14th, in 13:57.42.
“He was in a good spot,” said Eyestone of Kitchen. “He can run with those guys. After he got shoved into the infield, it seemed to get into his head.
“He lost his rhythm and focus. He’s definitely in better shape than the finish indicates.”
Teammate Isaac Hedengren finished eighth to score one point for the team. His time: 13:48.84.
“Isaac was a good steeplechaser last year and I thought he should go that direction this year, but he said he wanted to run the (5,000) and he just scored against a tough international field,” said Eyestone.
After resting Friday, the women will return to the track Saturday for the final day of competition. BYU’s Jane Hedengren, the record-setting freshman from Provo, will compete in the 5,000-meter run. She finished third in Thursday night’s 10,000-meter final.
BYU’s senior duo of Carlee Hansen and Carmen Alder will compete in the finals of the 1,500, while teammate Kaiah Fisher will compete in the discus.