SALT LAKE CITY — Kenneth Lukes isn't the only former BYU steeplechase athlete competing in the Paris Olympics.
Courtney Wayment qualified for her first Olympic Games on Thursday by placing second in the steeplechase final with a personal best of 9 minutes 6.50 seconds at the USA Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Nike's Val Constine, a former Colorado star just one year removed from a torn ACL, took first place in a meet record time of 9:03.22, and former Boise State All-American Marisa Howard took third place in 9:07.14 to round out the steeplechase team in Paris.
Three years after finishing fourth at the Tokyo Trials in 9:23.09 (Konstien came in third and earned the final spot on the U.S. team), Wayment made sure that didn't happen again.
“Fourth place is something I'll never forget,” she told NBC after the race. “Val placed third at the last Olympic Trials. Watching your dream disappear in the last 30 seconds is something you never want to experience again. This honor is mine and I'd like to thank the many people who supported me.”
Boston Athletics' Annie Rodenfels set an incredibly fast pace from the beginning, allowing Wayment to take the lead and overtake the leader just five minutes into the race.
But Konstienne made a strong charge in the final laps and dropped her to fourth by the bell lap. The former collegiate national champion fell far behind in fourth place, but fought her way back in the final 100 meters to finish second to Konstienne's Olympic Trials record.
Only two athletes have run a faster time than Konstin in the 3,000-meter steeplechase this year: Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs, recent recruits to the Utah Run Elite program. Both are Olympic and world championship medalists and American record holders, but they did not compete in Thursday's heats due to injuries.
“I'm so proud of Courtney's courageous effort today,” said BYU coach Diljit Taylor, who still coaches Wayment. “She was calm at the end of the race and executed the final water jump and barriers perfectly. She's racing with confidence and I'm excited to carry this momentum into Paris.”
Rodenfels placed eighth in a personal best time of 9:22.66, just ahead of BYU's Lexi Halladay-Lowry, who posted a personal best of 9:22.77.
Three-time American distance record holder Grant Fisher qualified for Paris in the 10,000 meters, realizing his dream of winning a second consecutive Olympic gold medal.
The former Stanford University star, who trained in Park City and signed with the Run Elite program before heading to Eugene, placed third in the 5,000-meter heats and advanced to Sunday's final with a time of 13:24.78.
BYU All-American Casey Klinger placed 22nd overall in 13:36.35 and did not advance to the finals. After finishing fifth in the 10,000-meter final in the preliminary round, Klinger was assigned to lane one.
Klinger, from American Fork, settled into the pack and was in eighth place with 800 meters to go and ninth when the bell rang for the final lap. But Klinger lost steam in his final spurt as Nike's Cole Hocker ran a final sprint to finish in ninth place with a time of 2:43.88 to take the top spot in the qualifier with a time of 13:33.45.
Dillon Maggard, a former Utah State star who runs professionally for the Brooks Beasts, placed 14th in his heat and 28th overall with a time of 13:41.51.
BYU All-American thrower Darin Schertz threw 60.17 meters (197 feet, 5 inches) in the first round of the men's discus to place 11th and advance to Saturday's finals.
Anna Camp Bennett, a former BYU distance running star and now a professional runner for Adidas out of Millard High School, placed third in the first round of the 1,500 meters and advanced to Friday's semifinals with a third-place time of 4 minutes, 18.62 seconds.
Abraham Alvarado, a 2017 BYU graduate, placed eighth in the 800-meter heats with a time of 1:46.17 and advanced to Friday's semifinals.
BYU rising senior Sebastian Fernandez finished 35th in the first round of the 800 meter heats with a non-qualifying time of 1:54.17.
Riley Chamberlain added a time of 4:18.62 in the opening round of the 1500m but also finished 37th and did not advance to the final.
Qualifying continues Friday at 5 p.m. Mountain Time with Kelsey Oldroyd becoming the first Utah Valley athlete to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials while still in college in the javelin. BYU's Alisa Keller will also compete in the javelin in Friday's qualifying round.
Camp Bennett will compete in the 1,500m semifinals at 6:53pm MDT, while Alvarado will compete in the 800m semifinals at 7:39pm MDT.
