BYU among the top schools in the country when it comes to sending runners to the Olympics

The recent U.S. Olympic track and field trials confirmed BYU’s reputation as a distance-running power.

Six current and former BYU athletes will compete in Paris this summer, the sixth-highest total among U.S. universities.

Counting only the distance events (5,000, 10,000, marathon, steeplechase), BYU leads all schools.

All six of the U.S. BYU qualifiers are distance runners — two in the marathon, three in the steeplechase, one in the 5,000-meter run. Stanford is second with three. Even if you count the middle-distance events (800, 1,500) in addition to the distance events, BYU still comes out on top.

It’s reminiscent of the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials, when BYU runners won the 5,000, 10,000 and steeplechase.

BYU’s Olympic runners

Whittni Morgan, 5,000 meters — Having undergone surgery late last fall, Morgan didn’t run her first race until April 13 and yet she still made the Olympic team. Given her late start, Morgan’s fitness will only improve between the trials and the Olympics.

She proved it on July 21, when she beat a big-time field to win the 1,500-meter run at the Sunset Tour meet in Los Angeles with a personal-best time of 4:02.59. Among her victims: Nikki Hiltz, winner of the 1,500 at the U.S. Olympic trials; Karissa Schweizer, who was third in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs at the Olympic trials; and former BYU teammate Courtney Wayment, who was second in the steeplechase at the Olympic trials but finished a distant ninth in L.A. in 4:09.62. Morgan will have to drop her PR of 15:02.07 (from last year) to make the Olympic final.

• Round 1 — Aug. 2
• Final — Aug. 5

Courtney Wayment, steeplechase — The 2021 NCAA champion rallied late to claim second place in the trials.

She is the fourth fastest American ever, behind Olympic medalists Courtney Frerichs and Emma Coburn and current rival Valerie Constien, who clocked 9:03.22 to win the trials. Constien has the third fastest time in the world this year; Wayment is seventh.

• Round 1 — Aug. 4
• Final — Aug. 6

Kenneth Rooks, steeplechase — After winning the 2023 NCAA and U.S. championships, Rooks turned pro this year and won a second U.S. championship at the Olympic trials. He has the best chance for a medal among BYU athletes.

Like Morgan, Rooks had a limited number of races this season because of injuries, but he did post his personal best time of 8:15.08. With faster competition, he will run deep into sub-8:10 territory. His ferocious kick makes him a heavy threat in any tactical race. He’s capable of sustaining a long kick, from 800 meters out or more.

• Round 1 — Aug. 5
• Final — Aug. 7

James Corrigan, steeplechase — In his first full year of competing in the steeplechase, the BYU sophomore placed third in the Olympic trials and a week later broke the national collegiate record with a time of 8:13.87 in a specially arranged race in Philadelphia.

A few days after that effort, USATF drug testers showed up at Corrigan’s Provo apartment for an unannounced random test. It’s standard protocol, but this was an hour before he was supposed to leave for his wedding ceremony.

Needless to say, this has been a memorable summer for Corrigan. He’s a raw young talent. His long, bouncing stride reminds Coach Ed Eyestone of two-time BYU Olympian Doug Padilla. His 8:13 effort in Philadelphia was largely a tie trial — trouble-free, two-man jaunt around the track; in Paris, he’ll have to run fast while navigating traffic.

• Round 1 —Aug. 5
• Final — Aug. 7

Conner Mantz, marathon — The 2021 NCAA cross-country champion narrowly beat training partner Clayton Young to win the U.S. trials in February. They finished one second apart.

Mantz’s time in the 2023 Chicago Marathon was 2:07.47, making him the fourth fastest American ever. That time easily would’ve won every Olympic marathon except one. Championship races are much more tactical. That improves the odds for Mantz and Young.

• Event: Aug. 10

Clayton Young, marathon — Young, the 2019 NCAA 10,000-meter champion, clocked 2:08.00 in the 2023 Chicago race, making him the seventh fastest American ever.

He has been trending steadily upward on the marathon scene. He’s a smart, calculating racer, which works in his favor in the more tactical championship races.

• Event: Aug. 10

Rory Linkletter, marathon — BYU actually has seven qualifiers for the Olympic track competition, but one of them, Linkletter, will run for Team Canada. He clocked 2:08:01 in Seville last February.

Canada’s other entry is Cam Levins, who won two NCAA championships for Southern Utah University.

• Event: Aug. 10

For what it’s worth, the BYU Olympians have a few things in common:

• Mantz, Young, Rooks and Corrigan are either engineers or studying to become engineers.
• Counting Linkletter, five of the seven qualifiers graduated from Utah high schools.
• Four of them served two-year church missions.

Schools with the most athletes (current and former) on the 2024 U.S. Olympic track and field team

• Florida: 7
• BYU , USC, Stanford: 6
• Arkansas, Kentucky: 5
• Texas A&M: 4
• Ole Miss: 3

Schools with most athletes on the U.S. Olympic track team in the distance events (5,000-meter, 10,000-meter, 3,000-meter steeplechase)

• BYU — 6
• Stanford — 3*
• Northern Arizona — 2

* Stanford grad Grant Fisher won both the 5,000 and the 10,000, giving Stanford four berths on the Olympic team.