NCAA Men’s Track: BYU’s Corrigan qualifies for steeplechase final
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- BYU’s James Corrigan, center, competes in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
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- BYU’s James Corrigan, center, leads his 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
James Corrigan is trying to carry on a proud BYU tradition.
The sophomore from Los Angeles won his 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene on Wednesday and easily qualified for Friday’s final.
Last season, Cougar Kenneth Rooks won the college national title in that event and then claimed the US championship after falling earlier in the race. The video of Rooks and his race was viewed more than 400,000 times on YouTube.
Corrigan set a personal best of 8:28.84, besting his previous top time of 8:29.24. He won the Big 12 title, setting a league record in the process, was second at the NCAA West Prelims and will be one of the favorites heading into Friday’s final.
Corrigan edged out Portland’s Estanis Ruiz (8:29.00) and Notre Dame’s CJ Singleton (8:29.23) to claim the top spot. BYU teammate Wyatt Haughton was 22nd in the second semifinal at 9:00.96 and did not qualify for the final.
BYU”s Danny Bryant, a junior from Valencia, Calif., set a personal best of 65-8 1/4 in the final round of the shot put and earned All-American honors with a fourth place finish. Bryant moved into third place all-time at BYU with the throw.
Bryant mustered an effort of 64-5 3/4 on his third and final effort in his flight to finish seventh to qualify for the final.
Cameron Bates, a senior from Spanish Fork, uncorked a toss of 236-6 on his second throw in his javelin flight to claim eighth place and qualify for the finals. Bates couldn’t improve on his distance in the finals but still earned All-American status by finishing in eighth. Marc Minichello of Georgia won the event with a toss of 264-9.
Bates was first at the NCAA West Prelims and is No. 1 all-time at BYU (253-2). Wednesday was his third NCAA appearance.
BYU’s Sebastian Fernandez, a junior from Andover, Minn., was eighth in his 800-meter semifinal at 1:49.3 and did not qualify for Friday’s final. Shane Cohen of Virginia came from the back of the pack to win the heat in 1:46.94.
BYU’s 4×400-meter relay team of Eli Hazlett, Abram Schaap, Jace Jensen and Trey Jackson were scheduled to race in the third heat, which began after the Daily Herald’s deadline.
The remaining NCAA men’s finals will be staged on Friday with Corrigan in the steeplechase, Aidan Troutner in the 5,000 meters and Dallin Shurts in the discus for BYU.
The women’s meet gets underway on Thursday, with the highlight for BYU coming in the 100 meters from Jaslyn Gardner. The senior from Enterprise is No. 1 all-time at BYU, setting the record at 11.0 earlier this season. Her semifinal will be at 7:45 p.m. MT.
Jenna Hutchins, a sophomore from Johnson City, Tennessee, will race in the finals of the 10,000 meters after finishing fourth at the NCAA West Prelims. She is No. 3 all-time at BYU with a time of 32:52.01.
Also competing for the Cougar women on Thursday are Riley Chamberlain (1,500-meter semifinals), Taylor Lovell (3000-meter steeplechase semifinals) and Rebekah Erickson (pole vault final).
