Utah State Men's and Women's Track & Field Teams Both Ranked Ninth in Region

LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State men's and women's track & field teams both appeared at ninth in the latest release of the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Outdoor Track & Field rankings.

Leading the men's Mountain Region is Texas Tech, followed by Northern Arizona, BYU, Colorado State and Air Force.

Texas Tech also claimed the top spot on the women's side with BYU, Colorado State, Nevada and Colorado rounding out the top five.

Utah State captured 10 individual titles and 27 top-three finishes, to go along with 12 marks that ranked among the top-10 all-time in school history, as the Aggies competed at the Stanford Invitational, the San Francisco State Invitational and the Utah Valley Collegiate Invitational last weekend.

At the Stanford Invitational, senior Mica Rivera set the second-fastest time in school history in the 10,000 meters at 34:23.08 to place sixth, while sophomore Morgan French placed ninth with a time of 34:51.58, which ranks seventh all-time in school history. Junior Bailey Brinkerhoff placed fifth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:40.94, which ranks fifth all-time in school history, and junior Abbey Jensen finished eighth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:27.70, which ranks eighth all-time in school history. Junior Tori Bailey placed fourth in the discus with a mark of 51.13 meters (167-9), which ranks seventh all-time in school history. In the javelin, freshman Valerie Clark won the event with a throw of 46.17 meters (151-5) and sophomore Djamilliah Paepke-Chile placed third with a distance of 43.77 meters (143-7), which ranks fourth and eighth all-time in school history, respectively. Senior Maia Garren also won the shot put with a mark of 15.58 meters (51-1.50).

On the men's side, junior Spencer Nelson set the third-fastest time in school history in the men's 5,000 meters with a time of 13:50.63 as he finished 11th, while junior Bridger Altice ran a 14:09.01 in the event, which ranks seventh all-time in school history. A pair of Aggies also set top-10 marks in the men's 10,000 meters as senior Connor Weaver's time of 28:54.55 ranks third, while fellow senior Caleb Garnica's time of 28:58.24 ranks fourth. And freshman Nate Franz won the collegiate draw of the men's shot put with a mark of 16.12 meters (52-10.75).

At the San Francisco State Invitational, senior Darren Harman placed 10th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:09.77, which ranks ninth all-time in school history and Abby Jensen won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:43.05.

USU garnered six more titles at the Utah Valley Collegiate Invitational with the Aggie women being responsible for four, including a sweep of the meet's two relay events. In the 4x100-meter relay, USU's team of senior Hailey Suit, junior Gabriella Holmstrom and sophomores Delphine Dah and Emma Reeves secured first place with a time of 47.73. In the 4x400-meter relay, the Aggie quartet of Dah, Reeves, freshman Alison Richter and sophomore Olivia Smith placed first with a time of 3:49.59. Sophomore Hannah Davidson notched a first-place finish in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:40.77. Senior Anna Parkinson won the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.50 meters (11-5.75).

On the men's side, senior Zach Meyer recorded a first-place finish in both the preliminary round and the finals of the 110-meter hurdles, qualifying with a time of 14.40 before securing the title with a time of 14.55. And, freshman Max Wehrli won the men's 3,000 meters, finishing with a time of 9:27.13.

Utah State men's and women's outdoor track & field teams continue their seasons on Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, at its hosts the annual Aggie Invitational. Field events on Friday begin at 4 p.m., while action on Saturday starts at 10 a.m.

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