Camp-Bennett leads BYU track & field with 1,500-meter championship at nationals

Anna Camp-Bennett won the national championship in the 1,500-meter race as the BYU track and field teams competed in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 9-12 in Eugene, Oregon.

Both the men’s and women’s teams posted impressive performances collectively and individually.

The women’s team finished 10th overall, its best place since 2005, with three top-five finishes by individuals.

The men’s team finished with six top-10 finishes, two of those being in the top five. The men’s performance was good for 17th overall.

Women’s Track & Field

Camp-Bennett posted a personal and program record at the right time as her 4:08.53 time edged out Colorado’s Sage Hurta’s 4:09.42 to win the lone national championship for BYU this outdoor season.

Not only did Camp-Bennett’s time win the national championship, but she broke her own school record in the 1,500-meter, which she herself set just two days before in the semifinal.

Courtney Wayment (Steeplechase) and Claire Seymour (800-meter) were the other Cougars to finish in the top five as both finished in fourth place.

Coach Diljeet Taylor announced on Instagram that five of the women’s distance runners qualified for the Olympic trials next week.

Men’s Track & Field

Distance runner Conner Mantz capped off an impressive year with a runner-up trophy in the 10,000-meter race to place alongside his individual cross-country national championship he won earlier this year.

Garrett Marsing (Fourth-Steeplechase), Cameron Bates (Seventh-Javelin), Michael Bluth (Eighth-400 meters), Zach McWorther (Ninth-Pole Vault) and Talem Franco (Ninth-1,500 meters) all finished in the top 10 alongside Mantz.

Bluth became the first Cougar to run in the 400-meter final since 1964. Marsing’s finish in the steeplechase earned him a spot in the Olympic trials next week.