Utah State University’s track and field teams began competition at the 2026 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships in Reno, Nevada, on Thursday. The Aggies collected 25.5 team points and recorded four performances that entered the top-10 marks in school history.
The men’s distance medley relay (DMR) team, composed of Landon Bott, Caleb White, Ernest Green, and Jayden Holdsworth, finished second with a time of 9:40.32. This result gave Utah State its fourth consecutive medal in the event and placed their time as the second fastest in program history for the DMR. New Mexico took first place with a time of 9:39.63.
For the women’s DMR, Sally Roos, Heidi Harper, Lexi Toronto, and Ava Trimble finished fourth with a time of 11:36.32. This performance moved them into third place all-time at Utah State for this event. New Mexico also won the women’s DMR title.
In individual events, Sabrina Fairbanks set a personal best in the pole vault by clearing 3.99 meters (13-1), tying for fourth place and earning 4.5 points for Utah State. Her mark improved her previous best by over five inches and placed her fourth on Utah State’s all-time list for indoor pole vaults. Karina Cooper cleared 3.84 meters (12-7.25) to finish eighth.
LJ Floyd scored four points for the men’s team after finishing fifth in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 13:59.17; his final lap was clocked at 29.25 seconds—the fastest in that race segment.
On the women’s side, Natalie Swain placed sixth in the women’s 5,000 meters with a time of 16:33.81, moving her into ninth place on Utah State’s all-time list for this distance.
In combined events competition, Javin Richards stood fifth after day one of the men’s heptathlon with 2,859 points following results from four events: he ran the 60 meters in second place at 6.92 seconds and ranked fifth or seventh across long jump, shot put, and high jump segments.
Sophie Chandler completed the pentathlon with a total score of 3,534 points to finish thirteenth overall; she took third in the pentathlon’s final event—the 800 meters—with a time of 2:22.81.
After day one concluded, Utah State men were tied with Wyoming for third place overall at twelve points while Utah State women were seventh with thirteen-and-a-half points; New Mexico led both competitions.
Friday’s schedule will feature finals in several field events as well as preliminary heats on track events including sprints and hurdles.
Fans can follow updates about Utah State’s track and field teams through social media channels such as X (@USUTF_XC), Facebook (USUTrack), Instagram (@USUTF_XC), or by following university-wide athletics accounts.
