Walker places on third day of NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Oregon— Junior Shaquille Walker ran a time of 1:45.17 to clinch third place in the men’s 800m final on the third day of the NCAA championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“It was a historic race in a lot of ways. Shaq ran a really great race and put himself in a excellent position," BYU track and field head coach said. "It was obvious from the start that it was going to be fast because they came through the first 200 meters in 24 seconds and through the first 400 meters in 40 seconds which is really fast. He acquitted himself very well and that's all you can ask for. This was defineitly the biggest race of the meet in terms of NCAA college records and Shaq held himself up there with top competitors." 

Walker was in contention for nearly the entire race as he kept pace with the top two finishers before the last few meters of the race. Eyestone said the winner was in doubt for almost the entire race. The first place finisher broke the stadium record, NCAA record, and NCAA college record. Walkers performance was right there with the top competitors in this historic race. His time was his second best in his career. Walker also took third in the 800m at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Aaron Fletcher competed in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase final and placed 13th with a time of 9:14.56. Zachary Blackham jumped a mark of 2.09m in the men’s high jump final to place 13th overall. Rory Linkletter took 19th place in the men’s 5,000m final and had a time of 14:06.62.

Shea Martinez-Collinsworth will be the last BYU athlete to compete tomorrow in the women’s 800m final. The final takes place at 4:47 p.m. PST. To view the live results, visit the BYU women’s schedule. The race will broadcast live on ESPN3.com.