When it comes to track and field, junior Miles Batty, senior Chris Little and sophomore Victor Weirich are no strangers to success. After earning NCAA All-American titles several weeks ago, the three Cougars recently faced a new challenge – competing at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The USA Championships serve as the selection event of the country’s top athletes for spots on Team USA at the IAAF World Championships later this summer. Athletes will be competing both from colleges and from special athletic teams, such as Nike and Reebok. In other words, the USA Championships are a big deal.
As is typical in any national championship, the level of competition was undeniably high.
“There are a lot more professional runners [here], ” Batty said. “It definitely ups the competition and makes it more difficult to qualify.”
Batty, a distance runner, has already earned prestigious awards this season. Before being given First-Team All-American honors in his event (1,500-meters) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Batty was the NCAA Division I Indoor Champion in the mile.
Following Batty’s race on Thursday, BYU coach Ed Eyestone revealed how good a start Batty had gained on his competitors.
“Miles ran a good race. He actually led the first two laps,” Eyestone said. “He got in a little bit of a box with about 400 [meters] to go, and by the time he got out of the box, he wasn’t able to close.”
Eyestone couldn’t say enough about how great a season Batty has had.
“He’s having an amazing run, no pun intended,” he said. “This is just a good experience for him, and he’ll be that much stronger next season.”
Based on Batty’s qualifying time, he began the competition seeded sixth in his division. Everyone seeded above him was either on the Nike or the Oregon Track Club Elite team. Batty came close but missed the cut for Saturday’s final race.
“Everything went pretty according to plan, for the most part,” Batty said. “It came down to the last 200-300 meters. I was in a poor position to make a move, got boxed in and came up a little short. But it’s just a good experience to be here.”
Despite not making it to Saturday’s final round, Batty ran the second-best 1,500-meter time he’s ever done.
Little and Weirich competed in the pole vault. While Batty and Weirich were newcomers to the USA Outdoor Championships, this was Little’s second trip in two years. Last year he placed seventh overall. This year, however, was Weirich’s time to shine. He gave an exceptional performance, tying for seventh place overall.
Two other athletes with connections to BYU also competed in the USA Championships. Former BYU student and 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist Josh McAdams performed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and placed fourth overall. BYU graduate student and women’s U.S. shot put record holder Jillian Camarena-Williams achieved second place overall in the shot put competition.
“I’m competing well and I’m competing consistent,” Camarena-Williams said to the Daily Democrat sports staff. “If I can keep this upward trend, I really think I can be contending for [an Olympic] medal.”
Although the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships marked the end of the regular season, the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships proved to be an exciting commencement of the post-season.
Batty remained optimistic as ever.
“It was a great season,” he said. “More importantly, [this season] gave me confidence. I’ve learned a lot of things that will help me change a little bit for next year and do even better.”
