EUGENE, Ore. – Michael Bryan and Taran Taylor placed in the top eight at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday at Hayward Field to earn First Team All-America honors.
 
"Very special day for Wichita State track and field," throws coach John Hetzendorf said. "Two seniors who've worked very hard for a long time both broke the school records in their events and became First Team All-Americans. Both did great things in very tough competitions."
 
Taran Taylor made history on his final throw of the javelin competition, breaking two-time All-American Aaron True's school record from 2018 to earn the highest NCAA javelin finish in Shocker history with his fourth-place performance. Taylor launched his sixth throw 78.76m/258'5" to move from sixth to fourth after entering finals in eighth place. Taylor earned First Team All-America honors in his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with that throw. Marc Minichellow of the University of Pennsylvania won the competition with a throw of 81.17m/266'3".
 
"The men's javelin was by far the best men's javelin throw in NCAA history," Hetzendorf said.
 
In the hammer, Bryan made a statement on his opening throw of the competition, taking the lead with a personal-best throw of 71.56m/234'9" to break his own school record. That mark carried him through to finals after he fouled his next two attempts and remained his best effort through to the end as he placed fifth to earn First Team All-America honors. This is the highest finish in the hammer in Shocker history and makes Bryan a three-time All-American (2021 hammer, 2022 indoor weight throw) and the first-ever Wichita State two-time All-American in the hammer. Southeast Missouri's Logan Blomquist claimed the title with a throw of 73.37m/240'8".
 
This marks the fourth-straight year that the Wichita State track and field program has produced at least one outdoor track and field All-American and the eighth time in the last 10 years.
 
"Very proud of the men today," Hetzendorf said. "They made it a very special day."