Not surprisingly, the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase final was the highlight of the day as Cougar athletes finished first and third.

Former BYU star Kenneth Rooks — who now races professionally on the Nike team — outsprinted Matthew Wilkinson down the stretch to win the race, ending up with a time of 8:21.92.

Current Cougar sophomore James Corrigan was only a few seconds behind the top two finishers, crossing the line in 8:26.78.

Neither run hit the Olympic standard, so they will have to wait to see if they make the US Olympic team.

BYU senior thrower Cameron Bates reached the finals in the javelin, ending up in ninth place with a top throw of 69.61 meters (228-4 feet).

Cougar senior Meghan Hunter ran in the 800-meter semifinals and although she didn’t qualify for the finals, she finished 22nd with a time of 2:30.27.

On Saturday, Cierra Tidwell Allphin qualified for the USATF Olympic Trials high jump final as she placed 11th in the qualifying round.

A six time All-American in the high jump, Tidwell Allphin tied for 11th with four other athletes clearing the bar at 1.78-meters/5-10. Each of the five competitors were then given one more attempt at 1.83m/6-0 to earn a spot in the final. The senior from Mesa, Arizona was one of two athletes to clear the bar and move on to compete for an Olympic Team Monday at 5:15 p.m. PT.

“I am proud of Cierra for managing her emotions during the jump-off” said jumps and multis coach Tiffany Hogan. “She got the crowd involved and it paid off with a massive clearance at six feet.”

Also on Saturday, Lucas Bons finished 14th in the men’s 1500m semifinal, clocking 3:38.40 to place ninth in his heat. The junior from Dublin, Ohio, will not advance to Monday’s final. Despite coming up short of Monday’s Olympic Trials final, Bons concluded a 2024 season in which he earned First Team All-American honors in the indoor mile with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships in March.

Cougar golfer Cooper Jones earns spot in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour event

BYU’s Cooper Jones shoots 13-under to finish 16th in his first start on the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday after receiving an exemption to the Compliance Solutions Championship.

“This week was amazing,” said Jones. “Just to get into my first Korn Ferry event and play well enough the first two days to make the cut was a surreal experience and felt really good. The golf course got harder on the weekend and was a bit of a grind, but I kept myself in it and was able to finish in the top 25 which gets me into next week. I’m driving to Illinois right now to play in next week’s event which is really special.”

Jones posted rounds of 66-66-71-72–275 for a 13-under-par total to earn a 15th-place finish in just his first professional start on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The rising sophomore, who is set to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru beginning in September, made 15 birdies in his first two rounds to post back-to-back 6-under 66s and earn a spot on the weekend.

By making the 36-hole cut, Jones joined a select group of active BYU Cougars to play the weekend in a Korn Ferry Tour including Tyson Shelley who took 12th at last year’s Utah Championship and Daniel Summerhays who won the 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational as a sophomore. On Saturday, Jones carded three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under 71 and his third-straight sub-par round to sit in a tie for third entering Sunday’s final round.

“It’s pretty cool to be in select company with a guy like Daniel Summerhays who has played on the PGA Tour and competed for major championships,” said Jones.

The Highland, Utah native began his final round with a pair of bogeys before making an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole to return to even par for the day. Jones bogeyed the par-4 ninth hole to turn in a 1-over 37. On the back nine, Jones recorded eight pars and a birdie to post an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 15th.

With his top-25 finish in Oklahoma, Jones has earned a spot in next week’s Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Illinois on June 27-30.

“Now that I’ve shown myself that I can finish in the top 25, it definitely changes my expectations for next week,” Jones said. “Obviously golf is really hard, so realistically the goal is still to make the cut. However, if I can play well the first two days and make it to the weekend, another top 25 finish would be definitely be the new goal so I can continue riding this wave of making it into the next week’s event.”

Former Cougars Peter Kuest and Daniel Summerhays also teed it up in Oklahoma alongside Jones. Kuest matched the sophomore with a 16th-place finish with rounds of 65-69-69-72–275 for a 13-under total. Summerhays shot 9-under-par to finish in a tie for 43rd with rounds of 67-72-71-69–279. Kuest and Summerhays will also compete in next week’s event in Illinois.

Courtesy BYU Photo