NCAA Women’s Track: BYU freshman Lovell on to steeplechase final
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- BYU freshman Taylor Lovell, center, lands the water jump in a semifinal of the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Heyward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
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- BYU freshman Taylor Lovell lands a water jump during a 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
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- BYU’s Jaslyn Gardner, center, competes in a semifinal of the 100 meters in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
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- BYU’s Rebekah Erickson signals to the crowd during the pole vault finals in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
The bright lights and pressure of the NCAA Track and Field Championships didn’t keep BYU freshman Taylor Lovell from doing her thing.
Lovell, a freshman from Gilbert, Ariz., continued BYU’s strong recent showing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by qualifying for Saturday’s final in the event. She was part of the four-runner chase pack behind the top three runners in the second heat on Thursday at Oregon’s Hayward Field. She took the lead among that group in the final turn and pulled into fourth to finish at 9:54.10.
With that time, Lovell was the last of two automatic qualifiers for the final. It was the fifth consecutive season that the Cougars have qualified a runner for the women’s steeplechase final.
Former Cougar Courtney Wayment broke the collegiate record in winning the NCAA steeplechase title in 2022.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Lovell said. “The stadium was fine. Everything was just fine. I thought I’d go in and do it. I just wanted to have a better mindset going than I did going into regionals. I just wanted to have fun, compete and that’s all that matters. If I compete I’m going through (to the finals).”
Doris Lemngole of Alabama ran the best time in the semifinals at 9:38.69, nearly ten seconds faster than the nearest competitor.
BYU’s Jenna Hutchins, a sophomore from Johnson City, Tenn., ran a personal best 32:44.05 in the 10,000-meter final and earned first team All-American honors with a sixth-place finish. Florida’s Parker Valby blew away the field and won the race in a meet record time of 31:46.09.
Jaslyn Gardner, a senior from Enterprise, ran an 11.24 in her heat of the 100-meter semifinals. Gardner finished fourth, with Jadyn Mays of Oregon winning the heat at 11.04. Gardner, who has run a personal best of 11.00 and is the No. 1-ranked all-time sprinter at BYU, did not qualify for Saturday’s final.
Riley Chamberlain, a sophomore from Loomis, Calif., in her first NCAA appearance, ran a 4:10.24 to finish 9th in her 1,500-meter heat and 13th overall. Though her time was a personal best, Chamberlain did not qualify for Saturday’s final. Shannon Flockhart of Providence posted the fastest time in the semifinals at 4:05.99.
Pole vaulter Rebekah Erickson, whose personal best of 15-1 3/4 is the top all-time mark at BYU, cleared 14-1 1/4 on her first try but failed to navigate 14-5 1/4 on her three attempts. Erickson just missed out on a first team All-American citation, finishing 11th overall.
BYU’s Saturday finalists for the women include Lovell, 5000-meter runner Sadie Sargent, high jumper Cierra Tidwell Allphin and discus athlete Gretchen Hoekstre.
Three BYU men will compete in NCAA finals on Friday. Steeplechaser James Corrigan, a sophomore from Los Angeles, is one of the favorites in his race after logging the top time and a personal best of 8:28.84 in the semifinals.
Junior Aiden Troutner from Provo will run in the 5,000-meter finals after finishing 12th in the NCAA West Prelims.
Dallin Shurts, a senior from Banks, Ore., has a date with the discus finals on Friday. He finished first in the NCAA West Prelims and is in his third NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance.
