Utah State Track & Field Sending 21 Student-Athletes to NCAA West First Rounds

Utah State will be sending 16 men and five women to the prelims. The Aggies’ 21 qualifying athletes for the preliminary round are the program’s most since a school-record 22 student-athletes were invited in 2018.

 

Athletes who ranked among the top 48 in the East or West regions in their respective event earned berths to the NCAA First Rounds.

 

Athletes with the top-12 times/marks and the 12 best relay teams at both the East and West First Rounds will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are being held June 11-14, in Eugene, Oregon.

 

Three men’s pole vaulters, who collectively swept the podium at last week’s 2025 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, qualified for the prelims. Junior Logan Hammer, a two-time All-American and five-time conference champion, leads the trio with a school-record clearance of 5.70 meters (18-8.25), set at the Beach Invitational, that also ranks second in the nation. Junior Javin Richards, the MW bronze medalist, advanced with a height of 5.30 meters (17-4.5), which he cleared at the Bobcat Invitational. Junior Marshall Rasmussen, who won silver at the conference championships, qualified with his personal-best mark of 5.19 meters (17-0.25) from the UNLV Rebel Elite.

 

Two men and one woman were invited to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sophomore Shelby Jensen finished in 9:48.44 at the MW Championships to claim the silver medal, break the Utah State record and move into 10th in the country in the event. Junior Logan Garnica and sophomore Garrett Woodhouse will represent the men’s team at the prelims, with the pair having set personal bests of 8:33.91 and 8:46.89, respectively, at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Garnica also set the USU record in his qualifying run.

 

Another trio of Aggies qualified for the 10,000-meter races, each setting their season-best times at the Stanford Invitational. Graduate Camren Todd broke the Utah State record with his qualifying run of 28:10.91. On the women’s side, senior Emma Thornley and sophomore Brianne Smith punched their tickets to the prelims with personal-best times of 3:32.13 and 34:08.72, respectively.

 

Sophomore Landon Bott, the champion of the men’s 800 meters at the MW Championships, qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds with a time of 1:47.11, set at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

 

In the men’s discus, senior Nate Franz and sophomore Joseph Turner both advanced to the NCAA prelims. Franz’s silver-medal throw of 57.13 meters (187-5) and Turner’s bronze-medal mark of 56.37 meters (184-11) at the MW Championships also qualified them for the prelims.

 

Thornley and junior Sarah Ellis will also compete in the 5,000 meters. Ellis qualified for the prelims with a time of 16:04.58 at the Stanford Invitational, a performance that broke the Utah State record in the event. Thornley’s qualifying run came three weeks later at the same Stanford track in the Payton Jordan Invitational, where her time of 16:01.44 broke her teammate’s school record.

 

Sophomore Walker Deede also earned his qualification through his performance at the conference championships, where his personal-best throw of 68.72 meters (225-5) earned him a silver medal.

 

Freshman Taite Priestley, winner of two MW bronze medals during his debut campaign, cleared a height of 2.12 meters (6-11.5) at the Weber State Spring Classic to earn his prelim berth in the long jump.

 

Junior Krysthina Vlahovic earned her first career berth to the prelims with her qualifying time of 13.46, set at the UNLV Rebel Elite.

 

The Utah State men’s 4×100-meter relay team earned a bid to the prelims for the first time since the 2016 squad, featuring All-Americans Parker Bluth, Brady Martin and Nic Bowens, accomplished the feat. The Aggies’ season-best time of 39.65 was posted by freshmen Diego Aguirre-Stewart, Daniel Chase, Mathew Hall and Ayodele Ojo at the UNLV Rebel Elite. Graduate Brennan Benson will also travel to College Station as an alternate for the relay team.

 

The NCAA West First Rounds will be available for streaming through ESPN+.

 

Fans can follow the Utah State track and field programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

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