alt=Doug RobinsonBYU grad Courtney Wayment breezed through the first round of the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday to qualify for Sunday’s final in the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
Wayment, who won the NCAA championships two weeks ago to end her collegiate career, finished second in her semifinal heat behind former world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Emma Coburn.
Coburn clocked 9:40.53, Wayment 9:41.64.
Courtney Frerichs, the Olympic silver medalist and American record holder, won the other heat with a time of 9:31.25.
Olympians Val Constien and Colleen Quigley also advanced to the final, which will be held Sunday afternoon.
Another former BYU athlete, Anna Camp Bennett, the 2021 NCAA 1,500-meter champion, finished last in her heat of the 800-meter semifinals and failed to qualify for the finals.
Bennett’s time was 2:02.31.
Olympic medalists Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers finished 1-2 in the first heat and Athing Mu, the Olympic champion, won the second heat.
The national championships will continue Saturday and conclude Sunday. Three BYU athletes will compete in finals on Saturday — NCAA champion Ashton Riner and Alexis McAllister in the javelin; All-American Kenneth Rooks in the steeplechase; and All-American Zach McWhorter in the pole vault.