Can Arizona State’s Jayden Davis win an NCAA track title?

• The 2025 NCAA Track and Field Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 11-14.
• Several Arizona high school alumni will also be participating in the championships.

The 2025 NCAA Track and Field Championships are set to take place from June 11-14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The meet will be broadcast on ESPN, with coverage beginning at 4 p.m. on June 11.

Here is a guide on what athletes to watch for from the four major Arizona universities and which storylines to follow at the NCAA Championships. To see the full schedule of events, click here.

Arizona State (Two individuals, one relay, three events)

• Jayden Davis, So.: 400 meters
• Ines Lopez, Jr.: Discus
• Malik Franklin, Fr.: 4×400-meter relay
• Trevin Moyer, Fr.: 4×400 relay
• Nicholas Ramey, Graduate student: 4×400 relay

Arizona (Eight individuals, two relays, 10 events) 

• Zach Landa, Sr.: Shot put
• Jesse Avina, Sr.: Javelin
• Zach Extine, Sr.: 110-meter hurdles
• Reinaldo Rodrigues, Sr.: Long jump
• Youssef Koudssi, Sr.: Discus
• James Onanubosi, Jr.: 4×100-meter relay
• Brian Limage, Jr.: 4×100-meter relay
• Isaac Davis, Sr.: 4×100-meter relay
• Tyson Tippett, Sr.: 4×100-meter relay
• Jade Brown, So.: 100 meters
• Jenica Bosko, Sr.: Long jump
• Tapenisa Havea, Jr.: Shot put
• Ava Simms, So.: 4×400-meter relay
• Keilee Hall, So.: 4×400-meter relay
• Camila Aguilar-Perez, Jr.: 4×400-meter relay
• Antonia Sanchez Nunez, Sr.: 400-meter relay

Northern Arizona University (Nine individuals, eight events)

• Trevor Hook, Sr.: Javelin
• Drew Bosley, R-Sr.: 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters
• David Mullarkey, Sr.:  5,000 meters, 10,000 meters
• Colin Sahlman, Jr.: 1,500 meters
• Maggi Congdon, Sr.: 1,500 meters
• Karrie Baloga, So.: 3,000-meter steeplechase
• LiNay Perry, Sr.: 400-meter hurdles
• Ava Mitchell, So.: 5,000 meters
• Agnes McTighe, Graduate student: 5,000 meters

Grand Canyon University (One individual, one event)

• Cam Wilmington, Graduate student: 400-meter hurdles

Local connections

Arizona high school track and field will be well represented at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships. From the top four in-state universities, eight total athletes with prep ties are on the entries list.

ASU has one: Jayden Davis (Phoenix Mountain Pointe).

Davis is one of the greatest runners Arizona has ever seen, setting the state record as a senior in the 400 meters three times before ending the year at 46.24. He won eight out of 10 races in the 400 meters during his final season in high school.

There is one high school alum as an alternate on ASU’s 4×400-relay team with freshman Josiah Anderson, who attended Phoenix Barry Goldwater.

Arizona has six: Zach Landa (Mesa Desert Ridge), Jesse Avina (Sierra Vista Buena), Zach Extine (Gilbert Perry), Isaac Davis (Queen Creek Casteel), Tyson Tippett (Chandler), Jenica Bosko (Tucson).

Landa had his senior season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he already solidified as one of the best throwers in state history in the shot put (63 feet, 9 inches) and discus (195-7). Avina only competed in four meets in the javelin during high school before enrolling at Paradise Valley Community College, where he was the 2021 NJCAA national champion and runner-up in 2022. Bosko hit 19-1 in the long jump and was the runner-up at the AIA Division I Championships.

There are two alums as alternates on Arizona’s 4×400-relay team with junior McKenna Watson (Phoenix Pinnacle) and sophomore Brooke Nordman (Scottsdale Chaparral).

NAU has one: Trevor Hook (Phoenix Arcadia). He was the Division II state champion as a junior in 2019 and finished sixth at the Meet of Champions. He was able to compete in three meets before the season was cancelled the following year, hitting a best of 172-7.

Arizona high school alumns competing at other colleges or universitiees include: Ole Miss junior Logan Kelley (Chandler Valley Christian, 2022) in the men’s pole vault; Tarleton State junior Sir Jonathan Sims (Chandler) in the men’s long jump; Indiana junior Makayla Hunter (Chandler, 2021) in the women’s shot put; BYU sophomore Taylor Lovell (Gilbert Perry, 2022) in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase; and Kentucky freshmen Stacey Onyepunuka (Avondale Agua Fria, 2024) and Kori Martin (Chandler Hamilton, 2024) in the women’s 4×100-meter relay.

Who has a chance to win?

There are a few individuals, as well as one relay, with a chance to land on the podium in Eugene.

Arizona senior Zach Landa in the shot put is one of the athletes with the best odds of winning. He was robbed of a potentially historic senior season at Desert Ridge, so it would only be fitting to end his college career on top. Landa, who won the Big 12 conference indoor individual title in the shot put, is currently ranked third outdoors in the NCAA at 67-8.75.

Only 10 sprinters in the NCAA this season have run under 45 seconds in the 400 and ASU sophomore Jayden Davis is one of them, which he did in a race against Fred Kerley earlier this year. Davis, at 44.84, has built on his stellar high school career by becoming one of the best quarter-milers in the history of the Sun Devils.

With Davis as the anchor of the 4×400-relay team, ASU is certainly in contention for the national title. ASU is ranked fourth in the country, only separated by .33 seconds from the No. 1 team.

It’s never wise to count out a distance runner from NAU with Mike Smith at the helm. This will be the last-ever competition for Smith as the head coach at NAU before he departs the school to move full-time to the professional level with Nike. 

With redshirt senior Drew Bosley and junior Colin Sahlman — two of his best runners ever — competing, each is a threat on the men’s side. Bosley is the former NCAA record-holder in the indoor 3,000 and Sahlman is ninth all-time in the NCAA for the 1,500. For the women, junior Maggi Congdon is a force in the 1,500 while sophomore Karrie Baloga, the Under-20 American record holder, has already established herself in the steeplechase.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.