Cougars announce 2014 awards at team banquet

BYU track and field celebrated its first season as a combined program by honoring several key members Thursday night in a team banquet.

The most improved and most outstanding award winners were selected by the coaching staff, while the most inspirational awards were voted on by team members. New team captains were selected by the current team captains and event group coaches.


Most Inspirational


Men: Tyrell Yardley.

Yardley, a high school phenom, had a very mediocre first few seasons at BYU. Hampered by injuries, he was unable to compete at the level he did in his prep days.

This season, Yardley has overcome injuries and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the 400m and the 4x400m relay. His mark of 46.95 ranks 35th in the West Region.


Women: Erin Murphy.

After trying out for the team in 2013, Murphy was cut from the roster. Undeterred, Murphy tried out again in
2014. Not only did she make the final roster, Murphy traveled with and competed for the team all season. Murphy's perseverance paid off, and she qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the High Jump with a mark of 1.75m.

Most Improved

Men: Tanner Sork.

Sork came out of high school as the top prep 800m runner in the country. After running 1:48.74 at the Washington/Oregon Border Duel, Sork went on to take second place at the 2012 USA Junior
Championships to qualify for the World Junior Championships.

After a stellar high school senior year, he had a disappointing season as a college freshman. Due to injuries, Sork did not compete in uniform for the Cougars. He struggled with the transition from high school to college and considered giving up running completely.

In 2014 however, Sork overcame injuries and raced his way into the No. 13 position heading into the NCAA West Preliminary.

Women: Erin Murphy.

After trying out for the team in 2013, Murphy was cut from the roster. Undeterred, Murphy tried out again in 2014. Not only did she make the final roster, Murphy traveled with and competed for the team all season. Murphy's perseverance paid off, and she qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the High Jump with a mark of 1.75m.

Most Outstanding

The most outstanding awards are given to the athlete with the highest national ranking in each event category. The following athletes received most outstanding for their respective event group.

Men's Distance: Curtis Carr (No. 2)
Women's Distance: Andrea Harrison (No. 19)
Men's Sprints: Korey Smith (No. 25)
Women's Sprints: Brenna Porter (No. 44)
Men's Jumps/Multis: Chase Dalton (No. 8)
Women's Jumps/Multis: Lexi Eaton (No. 25)
Men's Throws: Zachary Stetler (No. 56)
Women's Throws: Martha Shepard (No. 64)

Outgoing Team Captains

Jared Ward - Seven time NCAA All-American, Indoor 5,000m school record holder
Braydon Bringhurst - 2013 NCAA Indoor qualifier
Fan Fan Charles - Two-time NCAA West Preliminary qualifier
Andrea Harrison - NCAA cross country qualifier, two-time NCAA West Preliminary Qualifier
Elizabeth Wilson - Two-time NCAA West Preliminary qualifier
Martha Shepard - NCAA West Preliminary qualifier

Incoming Team Captains

Jason Witt - WCC Cross Country Individual Champion, three-time NCAA West Preliminary Qualifier
Kelsey Brown - Two-time NCAA championship qualifier
Braydon Bringhurst - 2013 NCAA Indoor qualifier
Brie Simmons - USATF Junior Qualifier in 2013
Brittany Critchfield - Redshirted 2014 season, will return as BYU's top senior thrower
Kassie Jensen - Second fastest 100m and 200m for BYU in 2014

2014 NCAA Preliminary qualifiers

All-American Curtis Carr and returning NCAA preliminary qualifier Andrea Harrison lead 42 BYU student athletes to the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Round in Fayetville, Ark, May 29 to 31.

Carr, who will compete in the 3,000m steeplechase, is the highest ranked athlete on the men's side coming into the meet at No. 2. Harrison, who also competes in the steeplechase, is the highest ranked athlete on the women's side coming in at No. 8.

Throughout the regular season, athletes from each team compete to qualify for the NCAA championships. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top 48 athletes in each event qualify for the preliminary round. In the preliminaries, the top 12 athletes move on to the NCAA championships, held June 11 to 14 in Eugene, Ore.

The Cougars have eight athletes, five men and three women, who are ranked in the top 12 in their respective events; Curtis Carr in the 3,000m steeplechase, Dakoda John in the high jump, Jared Ward in the 5,000m and 10,000m, Jason Witt and Jonathan Nelson in the 10,000m, Andrea Harrison in the 3,000m steeplechase, Shea Martinez in the 800m and Lexi Eaton in the high jump. Two athletes, Chase Dalton and Joshua Weirich have already qualified for the NCAA final in decathlon.

A full list of all BYU athletes accepted into the NCAA championships is listed below. The entire list of accepted entries can be found at NCAA.com. 

WOMEN

• 800m - Shea Martinez
• 1500m - Rachel Stewart
• 3,0000m Steeplechase - Andrea Harrison, Jennica Redd
• 10,000m - Nicole Nielsen, Makenna Smith, Carrie Jube
• 400m Hurdles - Brenna Porter, Kaylee Packham, Angela Shields, Alyssa Hansen
• High Jump - Lexi Eaton, Erin Murphy
• Pole Vault - Rachel Fisher
• Triple Jump - Elizabeth Wilson
• Hammer Throw - Martha Shepard, Deezbaa Whaley

MEN

• 400m - Tyrell Yardley, Mario Harper
• 800m - Tanner Sork
• 1500m - Chase Horrocks, Evan Argyle
• 3,000m Steeplechase - Curtis Carr, Aaron Fletcher, James Tracy, Travis Fuller
• 5,000m - Jared Ward, Curtis Carr
• 10,000m - Jason Witt, Jared Ward, Jonathan Nelson, Tylor Thatcher, Conner Peloquin, Tommy Gruenewald
• 400m Hurdles - Korey Smith, Mark Carlson
• 4x400m Relay - Tyrell Yardley, Sean Adams, Mario Harper, Korey Smith
• High Jump - Dakoda John, Zachary Blackham, Sam Rockwood
• Pole Vault - Adam Mikkelsen
• Shot Put - Zachary Stetler
• Discus - Zachary Stetler
• Javelin - Chase Dalton, Keith Keller, Kyle Baker
• Decathlon - Chase Dalton, Joshua Weirich

Tentative NCAA Qualifiers

Now that the regular season has concluded and all marks have been posted, the team has 47 athletes that have hit marks that would have qualified them for the first round of NCAA competition last season.

All those with rankings in the top 48 are guaranteed to qualify for the meet. Those outside the top 48 will have to wait until Thursday to find out whether or not they will be accepted.

Below is the most up to date list of 2014 tentative qualifiers.

NCAA West Preliminary Tentative Qualifiers

(Based on 2013 Marks)

Women

Brenna Porter – 400m Hurdles – 58.64 (20)

Kaylee Packham – 400m Hurdles – 59.73 (38)

Angela Shields – 400m Hurdles – 59.78@ (39)

Alyssa Hansen – 400m Hurdles – 59.94@ (45)

Shea Martinez – 800m/1500m – 2:05.83@/4:21.78 (14/29)

Rachel Stewart – 1500m – 4:25.16 (75)

Andrea Harrison – 3,000m Steeplechase/1500m – 10:09.86/4:25.18(1)@ (8/76)

Jennica Redd – 3,000m Steeplechase – 10:22.69 (30)

Nicole Nielson – 10,000m – 34:05.82 (21)

Makenna Smith – 10,000m/1500m – 34:54.27/4:26.28(1)@ (46/94)

Carrie Jube – 10,000m – 34:55.74 (48)

Lindsey Nielsen – 10,000m – 35:29.05 (70)

Lexi Eaton – High Jump – 1.80m (10)

Erin Murphy – High Jump – 1.75m (49)

Nicole Laws – High Jump – 1.73m (59)

Rachel Fisher – Pole Vault – 4.00m (29)

Elizabeth Wilson – Triple Jump – 12.40m (40)

Martha Sheppard – Hammer Throw – 58.22m (39)

Deezbaa Whaley – Hammer Throw – 57.51m (48)

Men

Tyrell Yardley – 400m/4x400m Relay – 46.95@/3:08.50 (41/18)

Korey Smith – 400m Hurdles/4x400m Relay – 51.37@/3:08.50 (17/18)

Mario Harper – 400m/4x400m Relay – 47.19@/3:08.50 (53/18)

Sean Adams – 4x400m Relay – 3:08.50 (18)

Mark Carlson – 400m Hurdles – 51.46@ (31)

Tanner Sork – 800m – 1:49.17@ (17)

Chase Horrocks – 1500m – 3:45.58(1)@ (55)

Evan Argyle – 1500m – 3:46.34 (1)@ (69)

Aaron Fletcher – 3,000m Steeplechase – 8:53.75 (20)

James Tracy – 3,000m Steeplechase – 8:54.41 (23)

Travis Fuller – 3,000m Steeplechase – 8:55.91 (24)

Curtis Carr – 3,000m Steeplechase/5,000m – 8:37.54/13:55.77 (2/32)

Jared Ward – 5,000m/10,000m – 13:34.74/28:37.36 (7/4)

Tommy Gruenewald – 5,000m/10,000m – 14:12.16/29:37.56 (79/56)

Jason Witt – 10,000m – 28:36.64 (3)

Jonathan Nelson – 10,000m – 28:44.72 (10)

Tylor Thatcher – 10,000m – 28:57.05 (18)

Conner Peloquin – 10,000m – 29:33.69 (49)

Dakoda John – High Jump – 2.19m (12)

Zachary Blackham – High Jump – 2.18m (13)

Sam Rockwood – High Jump – 2.11m (42)

Adam Mikkelsen – Pole Vault – 5.16m (51)

Alex Ashworth – Triple Jump – 14.98m (53)

Zachary Stetler – Shot Put/Discus – 17.96m/53.66 (23/46)

Chase Dalton – Javelin – 65.34m (25)

Keith Keller – Javelin – 65.32m (26)

Kyle Baker – Javelin – 65.16m (29)

NCAA Multi Events Finals Tentative Qualifiers

(Based on 2013 Marks)

Men

Chase Dalton – Decathlon – 7,642 (8)

Joshua Weirich – Decathlon – 7,412 (19)

NCAA Tentative Qualifiers (Week 7)

After seven weeks of outdoor track and field competition, the team now has 46 athletes who have hit marks that will likely qualify for the either first round of NCAA competition or the NCAA finals.

These tentative qualifiers are based on the final mark to gain acceptance into last year's meets.

The Cougars stayed in Provo for the second straight meet and again came up with some huge performances. "Good things happen at home," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone told BYUCougars.com. "With the day we had today we are on our way to meet our goal of sending 50 athletes to the NCAA Regional."

Additions to this week's list are Angela Shields in the 400m hurdles, Elizabeth Wilson in the women's triple jump, Chase Horrocks and Evan Argyle in the men's 1500, and Keith Keller in the men's javelin. There were also many improvements this week by athletes who were already qualified, as well as athletes who qualified in an additional event.

Below is the most up to date list of 2014 tentative qualifiers. 

NCAA West Preliminary Tentative Qualifiers

(Based on 2013 Marks)

Women

Brenna Porter – 400m Hurdles – 58.64

Angela Shields – 400m Hurdles – 59.78@

Kaylee Packham – 400m Hurdles – 59.83@

Alyssa Hansen – 400m Hurdles – 59.94@

Shea Martinez – 800m/1500m – 2:05.83@/4:21.78

Rachel Stewart – 1500m – 4:25.16

Andrea Harrison – 1500m/3,000m Steeplechase – 4:25.26@/10:09.86

Jennica Redd – 3,000m Steeplechase – 10:31.14

Nicole Nielson – 10,000m – 34:05.82

Makenna Smith – 1500/10,000m – 4:26.37@/34:54.27

Carrie Jube – 10,000m – 34:55.74

Lindsey Nielsen – 10,000m – 35:29.05

Lexi Eaton – High Jump – 1.80m

Erin Murphy – High Jump – 1.75m

Nicole Laws – High Jump – 1.73m

Rachel Fisher – Pole Vault – 4.00m

Elizabeth Wilson – Triple Jump – 12.40m

Martha Sheppard – Hammer Throw – 58.22m

Deezbaa Whaley – Hammer Throw – 57.51m

Men

Tyrell Yardley – 400m/4x400m Relay – 46.95@/3:08.97

Korey Smith – 400m Hurdles/4x400m Relay – 50.96@/3:08.97

Mark Carlson – 400m Hurdles – 51.46@

Tanner Sork – 800m – 1:49.17@

Chase Horrocks – 1500m – 3:45.66@

Evan Argyle – 1500m – 3:46.41@

Curtis Carr – 3,000m Steeplechase/5,000m – 8:37.54/13:55.77

Aaron Fletcher – 3,000m Steeplechase – 8:53.75

James Tracy – 3,000m Steeplechase – 8:54.41

Jared Ward – 5,000m/10,000m – 13:34.74 /28:37.36

Jason Witt – 10,000m – 28:36.64

Jonathan Nelson – 10,000m – 28:44.72

Tylor Thatcher – 10,000m – 28:57.05

Conner Peloquin – 10,000m – 29:33.69

Tommy Gruenewald – 10,000m – 29:37.56

Mario Harper – 4x400m Relay – 3:08.97

Sean Adams – 4x400m Relay – 3:08.97

Dakoda John – High Jump – 2.19m

Zachary Blackham – High Jump – 2.18m

Sam Rockwood – High Jump – 2.16m

Adam Mikkelsen – Pole Vault – 5.16m

Alex Ashworth – Triple Jump – 14.98m

Zachary Stetler – Shot Put/Discus – 17.96m/53.66

Chase Dalton – Javelin – 65.34m

Keith Keller – Javelin – 65.32m

Kyle Baker – Javelin – 65.16m

NCAA Multi Events Finals Tentative Qualifiers

(Based on 2013 Marks)

Men

Chase Dalton – Decathlon – 7,642

Joshua Weirich – Decathlon – 7,412