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Eugene, Ore. • BYU's Shaquille Walker ran one of the fastest races of his college career in the men's 800 meter finals at the NCAA Track & Field Championships on Friday night, but it wasn't quite good enough to give the junior a national title.

Walker finished third behind Texas A&M freshman Donavan Brazier and Mississippi State's Brandon McBride at historic Hayward Field on the Oregon campus.

Brazier's time of 1 minute, 43.55 seconds broke the NCAA meet record, while McBride posted a 1:44.50 and Walker a 1:45.17 in what was described as an incredibly fast pace by ESPN commentators. Walker was just 0.18 seconds off his personal best.

He set the pace early, leading the first lap, but dropped into third and held that position as Brazier and McBride battled for the win down the stretch. Brazier's time was the fastest in the world this year.

BYU's other outstanding middle-distance runner, Shea Martinez-Collinsworth, will run in the women's 800 meters final on Saturday and is one of the favorites in the event after posting the best time in any heat, 2:03.32.

BYU was the only team in the meet to have both a male and female in the 800 final.

Also Friday, BYU senior Aaron Fletcher placed 13th in the 3,000 steeplechase final, earning second-team all-America honors. Fellow senior Zach Blackham did not make the final eight in the high jump after missing on his third attempt at 2.14 meters.

BYU's Rory Linkletter was scheduled to run in the 5,000 meters final late Friday.

Thursday, BYU's Jackson Walker, a junior, finished 19th in the decathlon with 7,004 points. He earned honorable mention All-American honors.

Wednesday, BYU's Chase Horrocks failed to qualify for the finals in the 1,500 meters, posting a time of 3:44.79. Also, BYU's Jesse White was not able to get a qualifying time in the 400 meters.

Connor McMillan placed 16th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:40.65.

However, all three athletes earned second-team All-America honors.

BYU's men's 4x400 relay team placed 21st overall in the semifinals with a time of 3:09.30 and did not make the finals.