RENO, Nev. — Utah State track & field earned 25.5 team points and posted four performances that rank in the top-10 in school history on the first day of the 2026 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships in Reno, Nevada, on Thursday.
The men's DMR team of junior
Landon Bott, freshman
Caleb White, senior
Ernest Green and sophomore
Jayden Holdsworth earned USU's fourth-straight medal in the event, finishing second place with a time of 9:40.32 to earn silver. The quartet's time ranks second in Utah State history in the event, ranking only behind the standard of 9:32.31 set by the 2018 All-American crew of Jordan Beutler, Brady Martin, Clay Lambourne and Dillon Maggard. New Mexico won the relay with a time of 9:39.63.
On the women's side, freshman
Sally Roos, sophomore
Heidi Harper, freshman
Lexi Toronto and sophomore
Ava Trimble took fourth place with a time of 11:36.32. The team of all underclassmen moved into third place in USU DMR history. New Mexico claimed the women's DMR title, finishing in 11:02.09
Sophomore
Sabrina Fairbanks and freshman
Karina Cooper earned the women's first team points of the day in the pole vault. Fairbanks vaulted a personal best 3.99 meters (13-1) to tie for fourth place in the competition, earning 4.5 points. She set her fourth personal best of the indoor season, moving into fourth in USU history after topping her previous best by 5.5 inches. Cooper jumped 3.84 meters (12-7.25) to place eighth in the field. Grand Canyon's Eva Lowder won the competition with a clearance of 4.29 meters (14-0.75).
Senior
LJ Floyd crossed the line in fifth place in the men's 5,000 meters, clocking in at 13:59.17 to get the Aggie men on the scoreboard. Floyd closed strong with a race-best final lap of 29.25 to move up in the field and earn USU's first four team points. New Mexico's Habtom Samuel won the title with a meet-record time of 13:30.40.
Junior
Natalie Swain, who earned second-team All-MW honors during the cross country season, put up another strong performance at a conference meet as she placed sixth in the women's 5,000 meters with a time of 16:33.81. Swain moved into ninth place in Utah State history at the distance with her effort. Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico won the race with a conference record of 15:32.15.
Thursday's action began with the women's pentathlon and the first four events of the men's heptathlon. In the heptathlon, senior
Javin Richards ranked in fifth place after Thursday's events with 2,859 points. Senior
Sophie Chandler took third place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:22.81 to round out the competition with a 13th-place total of 3,534 points in the pentathlon.
After the first day, the Aggie men are tied with Wyoming for third place with 12 points while the USU women sit in seventh place with 13.5 points. New Mexico leads both competitions, with the women earning 41 points and the men claiming 29 points.
Friday's competition will include the finale of the heptathlon and field event finals in the men's and women's weight throw and long jump, along with the women's high jump final. The track will host the prelims of the 60 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, mile and 60-meter hurdles. Live coverage will continue from Reno on the
Mountain West Network.
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Utah State University Athletics.
2026 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships – Day 1
Reno-Sparks Convention Center | Reno, Nevada | February 26, 2026
USU Men's Results:
| Event (Round) |
USU Finishers (finalists and scorers in bold) |
| 200 Meters (P) |
Diego Aguirre-Stewart, DNF. |
| 5,000 Meters |
5. LJ Floyd, 13:59.17; 12. Joshua McKee, 14:22.65; 19. John Simmons, 14:59.85; 20. Michael Amitava Maiorano, 15:12.20. |
| DMR |
2. Utah State (Landon Bott, Caleb White, Ernest Green, Jayden Holdsworth), 9:40.32. |
USU Women's Results:
| Event (Round) |
USU Finishers (finalists and scorers in bold) |
| 200 Meters (P) |
25. Nia Moore, 24.95. |
| 5,000 Meters |
6. Natalie Swain, 16:33.81; 13. Brie Smith, 16:53.76; 13. Sarah Ellis, 16:59.17; 14. Hailey Shakespear, 17:16.17. |
| DMR |
4. Utah State (Sally Roos, Heidi Harper, Lexi Toronto, Ava Trimble), 11:36.32. |
| Pole Vault |
4. Sabrina Fairbanks, 3.99 meters (13-1); 8. Karina Cooper, 3.84 meters (12-7.25). |
| Multi-Event |
USU Finishers |
| 60-Meter Hurdles |
15. Sophie Chandler, 9.18; 17. Gracynn Smith, 9.73. |
| High Jump |
15. Sophie Chandler, 1.51 meters (4-11.5); 15. Gracynn Smith, 1.51 meters (4-11.5). |
| Shot Put |
8. Sophie Chandler, 10.91 meters (35-9.5); 18. Gracynn Smith, 8.21 meters (26-11.25). |
| Long Jump |
12. Sophie Chandler, 5.34 meters (17-6.25); 15. Gracynn Smith, 4.95 meters (16-3). |
| 800 Meters |
3. Sophie Chandler, 2:22.81, Gracynn Smith, DNF. |
| Pentathlon |
13. Sophie Chandler, 3,534 points; 18. Gracynn Smith, 2,354 points. |
-USU-
