Sports
Boise State stars qualify for NCAA Track Championships
Helms, Ackermann, and Robertson will represent the Broncos against the best in the college ranks this week.
BOISE, Idaho — The first season of the Pat McCurry head coaching era at Boise State is off to a good start, as the Bronco Track and Field team boasts three qualifiers for the NCAA Championships this week in Eugene, Oregon.
The trio represents the first time Boise State has had multiple qualifiers in the same year since 2021 and the first time they are sending both men’s and women’s teams to the championships since 2016.
Emmett High School graduate Landon Helms qualified in the decathlon after scoring 7673 points on the way to a first-place finish at the Mountain West Championships. He becomes the first Bronco to qualify for the event since Kurt Felix back in 2012.
Sophomore Hanna Ackermann qualified for the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase, the first Bronco to do so since Allie Ostrander back in 2019. The Germany native posted a time of 9:54.40 in the NCAA West Regional, seeding her at 13th in the 24 runner field.
Ackermann has been working alongside Marisa Howard, who joined the Broncos as an assistant coach this year. Howard was an 11-time American at Boise State, and placed seventh in the first round 3000m Steeplechase in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Junior Kaiya Robertson will represent Boise State in the Women’s 1500m after earning a 12th place finish in the NCAA West Regionals. She enters the competition with the 22nd best time in the country after recording a personal best of 4:10.15 at the Portland Twilight earlier this season.
The NCAA track and Field Championships kick off on Wednesday June 11 and run through the 14th. The first two days will be broadcast on ESPN, the second two days will be on ESPN.