Clinger crossed the finish line in 7:41.05 and placed seventh overall in the event. The distance runner broke his own school record of 7:43.96 that he obtained at the 2023 Razorback Invitational. Clinger was a 2023 All-American in the event and placed fourth overall. He also was the lead runner for BYU at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country National Championships in which he took fourth overall, leading the Cougars to a team title.

Freshman Berkley Nance took first in the open section of the 5000m, crossing the finish line in 3:52.77.

The men’s throws postion group saw Danny Bryant earn a 18.89m/61-11.75 mark in the weight throw and took fifth overall.

The men’s sprints and jumps group competed at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Friday. Nine Cougars raced in the men’s 200m unseeded event. Eli Hazlett recorded the fastest time for BYU, having crossed the finish line in 21.28.

“It felt great and I loved to be able to run and get personal bests with the guys,” Hazlett said. “Getting fast 200-meter races under our belts will set us up for a good showing in the 400m invite and for the 4×4 later in the day. We’ll be looking for some fast times tomorrow.”

The men’s jumps position group was headlined by Carter Walker who cleared 2.03m/6-8.00 in the high jump and placed tenth overall.

No. 7 men’s volleyball escapes with five-set win at Concordia Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball team registered a season-high 10 aces in its five-set victory (25-21, 25-15, 18-25, 20-25, 15-8) against Concordia University Irvine in the CU Arena on Friday evening.

“It’s nice to start conference play with a couple good wins on the road,” said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. “It can be tough to rebound in the fifth set when your opponent’s have some momentum, but our guys did just that led by Keoni from the service line. He was steady all night as were our middles.”

Keoni Thiim led the Cougars by tying his season-high of five aces, including a match-high of 17 kills. Thiim’s five aces are tied for eighth-most all-time in a single match in BYU men’s volleyball history. Miks Ramanis also recorded a season-high 16 kills for the Cougars.

Middle blocker Teon Taylor nearly recorded a perfect game totaling nine kills off 10 swings, with zero errors. Taylor also finished with two blocks and an ace. Junior middle blocker Ethan Gant started in his third match of the season and collected a career-high of eight kills.

BYU totaled 62 kills compared to CUI’s 48. The Cougars applied pressure from the service line, earning 10 aces and leaving the Golden Eagles with 17 service errors.

BYU won the first two sets and Concordia Irvine the next two to force a fifth set. The Cougars set the tone in Set 5 by going on a 4-0 run, with a BYU chant by Cougar fans echoing from the stands in CU Arena. Back-to-back kills from Taylor and Thiim gave BYU a 7-1 advantage. Ramanis then earned back-to-back kills for a 9-3 score. An ace by Herget gave BYU match-point, and CUI would fight through the next point until a service error closed the match 15-8, securing a 3-2 win for the Cougars.

A 4-0 run consisting of three Thiim kills and a Taylor ace gave BYU a 9-7 lead in Set 1. BYU’s offense continued to excel, with three kills from three different Cougars to gain a four-point lead at 13-9.

CUI inched its way towards a one-point lead at 15-14 off a couple BYU attacking errors, leading to a BYU timeout. Thiim soared over the Golden Eagles blockers to earn two more kills, taking the score to 21-18 for CUI to burn its second timeout.

A kill by Ramanis would conclude the first set 25-21 for a 1-0 BYU lead. Thiim earned seven kills through the first frame while Ramanis gathered six.

BYU coasted with a continuous lead in the second set, with the Cougars gaining a 10-7 lead after back-to-back aces by Thiim. CUI called a timeout when trailing four points, but it didn’t cause the Cougars to lose any steam as a kill by Thiim and CUI error boosted the score to 13-7.

BYU dropped three points in a row to the Golden Eagles, all due to attacking errors, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout at 14-11, with BYU still in the lead. Immediately following the timeout, BYU went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-11 lead, with the Cougars fighting through multiple long rallies.

Junior outside hitter Jack Sutton entered off the bench for BYU and recorded his first collegiate career kill, taking the score to 23-12. A kill by Benson finished the set 25-15 for a 2-0 BYU advantage.

The Golden Eagles came out swinging by going on a 6-2 run to kick off the third set, forcing BYU to take a timeout. The Cougars struggled with attacking errors, leading CUI to earn a seven-point lead at 12-5.

BYU entered setter Noa Haine and outside hitter Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga off the bench, looking for some new energy to generate the Cougar offense. The Cougars earned a 4-0 run off the back of Thiim’s three kills to lessen the gap to four points at 16-12, leading to a CUI timeout.

CUI continued to capitalize off its lead and would secure a 25-18 win, pushing the game into a fourth set.

Thiim’s fourth ace of the evening gave BYU an early 3-1 lead in Set 4. Kills from Gant and Tufuga later took the score to 10-7. Both teams battled to tie the set at points 12, 13 and 15.

BYU called a timeout when trailing two 18-16 after a Cougar attacking error, and called another timeout when down four 21-17. CUI continued to apply pressure, taking the fourth set 25-20 and extending the game into a fateful fifth set.

BYU (10-4 overall, 2-0 MPSF) returns to Provo next week for a two-match non-conference series against Barry University on Friday and Saturday, with both games streaming live on Big10+ and a rebroadcast on the BYUtv app following each match at 10 p.m. MT.

Baseball drops season opener to Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. — BYU baseball dropped its 2025 season opener to Fresno State, 7-1, on Friday at Bob Bennett Stadium in Fresno, California.

Bulldog right-handed pitcher Jack Anker, who helped Fresno State to a Mountain West title in 2024, earned the victory scattering four hits over six innings, while Cougar righty starter Payton Gubler went six solid innings, giving up just two earned runs in the loss.

“Unfortunately we had two innings that sort of got away from us tonight, but tip your hat to Fresno State and Jack Anker.” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt.  “Anker was very good tonight. He pounded the plate and we needed to do a better job of making adjustments at the plate. The good news is we have a chance to get right back at it with a double-header tomorrow. I thought Payton pitched well for us tonight. He threw stikes and kept us in it for six innings.”

Fresno jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on three hits and an error that allowed two unearned runs to score. The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the fourth on a hit, passed ball and a wild pitch for a 4-0 lead.

BYU got on the board in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-1. With one out Parker Goff walked and advanced to second on an error. Easton Bryant then doubled down the leftfield to score Goff.

The Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the seventh with three runs on two hits, a hit batter and a walk for a final score of 7-1.

Softball absorbs first loss of season

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mex. — BYU softball dropped its first game of the season in an 8-6 contest to Boise State in game three of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge at Nancy Almaraz Field on Friday night.

The Cougars (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) surrendered three runs in the second inning and played from behind the remainder of the game, never drawing closer than one run.

Boise State jumped out to a 5-0 lead before BYU answered back in their half of the third inning. Lauren Flanders drew a one-out walk before Hailey Morrow singled down the left field line. Lily Owens then singled on a dribbler off the end of her bat, scoring Flanders on a Boise State throwing error. Ilove’a Brittingham launched a three-run homer over the left field fence two pitches later, the first of her collegiate career, cutting the Broncos lead to one, at 5-4.

BSU added back to its lead in the fourth, stringing together a walk, double and single all with no outs to lead 7-4.

BYU again responded in the home half of the frame with Keila Kamoru doubling down the left field line and moving to third on a Miranda Mansfield slap bunt. Flanders would bring Kamoku home on a slap single past the pitcher, and it was 7-5, Boise State.

The Broncos threatened with the bases loaded and just one out in the top of the fifth inning, but only plated one on a hit batter, gaining an 8-5 advantage.

Brittingham erased a single in the sixth, catching a Boise State runner stealing and preparing BYU to do damage in the bottom half of the inning in which it sent seven batters to the plate. The Cougars loaded the bases on a trio of walks, scoring one when Acosta was hit by a pitch, but a groundout ended the potential attack a a batter later.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, BYU had two runners in scoring position, but another groundout halted the Cougars’ comeback effort, sealing their first loss of the 2025 campaign, 8-6.