A big day for BYU athletes at USA Track & Field Outdoor Championship
It was a big day for current and former BYU athletes at the USA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships Saturday in Eugene, Ore. Besides Kenneth Rooks’ remarkable come-from-behind win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (see main story), former BYU athletes Zach McWhorter and Courtney Wayment finished second and third, respectively, in their events to win a place on the U.S. team that will compete in the world championships next month in Budapest.
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McWhorter, who graduated from BYU last spring, has continued to compete on the professional circuit while being coached by his father Rick, a Provo surgeon and former BYU pole vaulter. He delivered one of the bigger upsets of the day on Saturday, placing second in the pole vault with a personal-record clearance of 19 feet, 2 3/4 inches.
“That was unbelievable,” said BYU field-event coach Mark Robison. “He PR’d twice in the biggest meet of his life.”
Wayment, another former BYU athlete, led much of the women’s steeplechase final, but with two laps to go she was overtaken by 10-time national champion Emma Coburn, who was then overtaken herself by Krissy Gear in the final homestretch. Gear, a middle-distance runner who has ventured into the steeplechase, raced past Coburn to finish in 9:12.81. Coburn was second in 9:13.60, Wayment third in 9:14.63.
