BYU's Conner Mantz (13:28.00), Casey Clinger (13:28.70), Brandon Garnica (13:29.16) Run Away In 5,000 To All Eclipse Previous Dempsey Record, Becoming First Three Teammates To Achieve Feat In Same Race In NCAA History

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Hours after a trio of Oregon runners grabbed the running world's attention with a super-fast mile at Arkansas, the BYU men flexed in the 5,000 meters at Washington. 

Without the benefit of a pacer, Conner Mantz led teammates Casey Clinger and Brandon Garnica through a brisk race that drove all three well under the Dempsey Indoor facility record of 13:29.94 set at the 2012 Husky Classic by British athlete Chris Thompson of Nike Oregon Track Club Elite. 

Mantz drove himself to the fastest time in the world this year and a BYU record, clocking 13:28.00, with Clinger running 13:28.70 and Garnica finishing in 13:29.16. Clayton Young, the 2019 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor 10,000-meter champion for the Cougars, ran 13:34.46 that same year indoors at Iowa State.

It marked the first time since 2012 that at least three collegiate athletes ran under 13:30 in the same race, when four competitors achieved the feat at the NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory in New York. Among that group were Arizona teammates Lawi Lalang (13:08.28) and Stephen Sambu (13:13.74), who achieved the two fastest indoor times in collegiate history, although three competitors from the same school had never accomplished the feat in the same race before Friday.

WASHINGTON INDOOR INVITATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST CONTINUES SATURDAY | FRIDAY RESULTS

Although they didn't crack the all-time collegiate top 10, the Cougars' trio ran the fastest three times ever on an oversized indoor track, surpassing Chris Solinsky's 13:30.74 from the 2007 Husky Classic.  

Of course, it remains to be seen how BYU men's distance coach Ed Eyestone will play his cards with indoor track overlapping with cross country. 

Additionally, the chase pack behind the three BYU runners also ran fast. A total of 13 runners finished under 14 minutes, including seven from BYU. Washington State's Colton Johnsen was fourth in 13:43.72. 

There was more good news for BYU in the women's 3,000 meters, where unattached Cougar Anna Camp-Bennett won in 8:52.75 and teammates Courtney Wayment (8:54.89) and Olivia Hoj (8:56.90) catapulted to the top of the NCAA leaderboard. 

Camp-Bennett used a late burst of speed to overtake post-collegiate runner Alli Cash of Oiselle Volee (8:53.52) for the win. 

The University of Washington Indoor Invitational resumes Saturday.