BYU Senior Patiently Waited For NCAA Final And Then Crushed The Collegiate Record With 9:16.00

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Chuck Aragon and Phil Yearian

Courtney Wayment pushed herself, away from the competition and into the realm of her own limits, on Saturday at Hayward Field in the finals of the NCAA Division 1 women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. 

It took patience on her part, but most people who follow the sport closely enough could see a big performance coming from 3,000 meters away. 

Five years after Wayment first picked up the event for BYU and began by running times over 10 minutes, and a year after placing a disappointing fourth in the NCAA final, she ran a collegiate record 9:16.00 and became the fifth-fastest American woman of all-time. 

"I've been patient a really, really long time and I've had a lot of highs and lows, so I'm really grateful for this moment," Wayment said. 

During one period of injury, Wayment confided in coach Diljeet Taylor that she didn't feel like she wanted to participate in track and field any more. 

Taylor asked her to be patient, to let her injury heel, and talk about it then. 

Wayment rose up to a fifth-place finish in the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She won the 3,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships and anchored the winning Distance Medley Relay. 

But by April of 2021, it was becoming clear that the steeplechase might be her best event. She ran 9:31.37 at the West Coast Relays and that race seemed to foretell her future. 

On Saturday, in her final race as a Cougar, the moment came to put everything into the event. She went through 1,600 meters in 4:55 and gained separation from the field. She kept pushing. 

"I was focusing on still be rhythmic while stepping on the gas," Wayment said. 

The only college athlete to run faster was Jenny Simpson, who ran 9:12.50 for an American record at the 2009 World Championships. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association doesn't recognize times outside the college season for record purposes. 

Wayment's time broke the NCAA meet record by more than eight seconds. 

In Portland, former teammate Whittni Orton-Morgan, an adidas pro, took a moment to discuss Wayment's achievement after breaking her own personal best in the 1,500. 

"Seriously so, so proud of her," Orton-Morgan said. "We were all watching in the hotel and we all just had the chills. She deserves it. It's been a long time coming in the steeple for her."

Another notable athlete who was paying attenton was nine-time U.S. champion and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn of New Balance.

"Courtney Wayment, she did awesome. Nine-sixteen-oh, that's super legit," Coburn said. "I typically don't watch track meets (on TV) on the day of my own races, because I get a little nervous, but I was following the results and saw that she ran the last 2K solo."

Wayment wasn't the only runner in the NCAA finals running beyond where they had before.

In yet another example of the growth of women's steeplechase, 10 of the top 11 finishers ran personal bests and all 10 ran under 9:40, producing the fastest performances for each place in NCAA championship history, including runner-up Kayley DeLay of Yale, who elevated to the No. 3 all-time collegiate competitor at 9:25.08, trailing only Wayment and Courtney Frerichs of New Mexico and the previous record of 9:24.41.