Utah State University Athletics

TITLES: Mountain West Outdoor Champion: 800 Meters (2023); Mountain West Indoor Champion: Mile (2024), DMR (2024).

HONORS: Mountain West All-Conference Outdoor: 1,500 Meters (2022); 800 Meters (2023, 2025); Mountain West All-Conference Indoor: Mile (2023, 2024), DMR (2023, 2024, 2025); USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2025 T&F); Academic All-Mountain West (2020 XC, 2021 T&F, 2022 T&F, 2022 XC, 2023 T&F, 2023 XC, 2024 T&F, 2024 XC, 2025 T&F); Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2020 XC, 2021 T&F, 2022 T&F, 2022 XC, 2023 T&F); USU Whitesides Scholar-Athlete (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025).

INDOOR RECORDS: Ranks second all-time at USU in the mile with a time of 4:01.09, set in 2025… Ranks third all-time at USU in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.56, set in 2025… Member of the second, fourth, ninth and 10th-fastest distance medley relay teams at USU with times of 9:42.46 (2025), 9:44.03 (2023), 9:52.76 (2022) and 9:53.81 (2022)… Holds the George Nelson Fieldhouse facility record in the mile with a time of 4:04.56, set in 2024.

OUTDOOR RECORDS: School record holder in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.96, set in 2023… Ranks sixth all-time in USU history in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.94, set in 2023.

2025 (GR)
Cross Country (2024): Finished 16th at the UC Riverside Invitational with an 8K time of 23:51.3… Took 226th at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run with an 8K time of 25:33.2… Placed 19th in the open race at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals with an 8K time of 24:29.1… Finished 205th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a 10K time of 30:52.4.
Indoor: Placed second in the DMR and eighth in the mile at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, finishing in a personal-best 9:42.46 and 4:13.51, respectively… Set a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:01.09 as he placed 57th at the Boston University-hosted Valentine Invitational… Broke the facility record in the 800 meters at the Nevada-hosted Wolf Pack Classic, finishing in a personal-best 1:48.56… Set the 800-meter facility record at the Nevada Invitational with a time of 1:48.67… Won the mile competition at the Idaho State-hosted Snake River Open in a time of 4:08.33… Part of USU’s winning DMR team at the Weber State Invitational, finishing in 10:14.26.
Outdoor: Finished third in the 800 meters and seventh in the 4x400-meter relay at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships with times of 1:51.37 and a personal-best 3:17.91, respectively… Won the 800 meters at the Utah State-hosted Aggie Invitational in a time of 1:49.93.

2024 (SR)
Cross Country (2023): Won the season-opening Utah State-hosted Sagebrush Invitational with a 7K time of 21:25, helping Utah State win the team title… Finished 158th at the Virginia Invitational with an 8K time of 24:55.3… Took 166th with an 8K time of 24:48.9 at the Wisconsin-hosted Nuttycombe Invitational… Placed 28th at the Mountain West Championships with an 8K time of 24:16.5, helping Utah State finish fifth… Finished 86th at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships with a 10K time of 31:23.7.
Indoor: Won the mile (4:11.48), DMR (10:07.76) and took fifth in the 4x400-meter relay (personal record time of 3:15.63) at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Set a season best in the 800 meters with a time of 1:50.74, which ranks seventh in school history, as he placed second at the Washington Invitational… Won the invitational mile with a time of 4:04.56 at the Utah State-hosted Roman Ruiz Speed and Power Meet… Won the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.88 at the Weber State Invitational.
Outdoor: Did not compete during the outdoor season.

2023 (JR)
Cross Country (2022): Placed 213th with a 10K time of 31:13.1 at the NCAA Championships, helping Utah State finish 26th as a team… Placed 25th with an 8K time of 24:29.5 at the Mountain West Championships, where the Aggies finished third as a team… Was the first Aggie to cross the finish line in the B Race at the Wisconsin-hosted Nuttycombe Invitational, placing 23rd with an 8K time of 24:34.1… Led the Aggies to the team title at the Utah State-hosted Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational, where he placed fourth with a 7K time of 21:49.12 for his best finish of the season… Finished 11th with a 6K time of 19:22.5 at the Idaho State Open, helping the Aggies place first as a team… Opened the season by finishing 12th with a 7K time of 22:02 at the Utah State-hosted Sagebrush Invitational, helping Utah State capture the team title.
Indoor: Earned a pair of first-team all-Mountain West honors after placing third in the DMR with a season-best time of 9:44.03, which ranks third all-time in school history, and third in the mile with a time of 4:06.51 at the Indoor Championships… Opened the season by placing third in the 3,000 meters with a personal-best time of 8:19.23 at the Nebraska-hosted Mark Colligan Memorial Invitational… Placed 12th in the mile with a season-best time of 4:01.63, which ranks third all-time in school history, at the Washington Invitational.
Outdoor: Set the school record and placed eighth in the quarterfinals of the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.96 at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships… Earned first-team All-Mountain West honors after winning the 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:48.94, which ranks fifth all-time in school history, at the Outdoor Championships… Placed first in the 800 meters (1:50.64) at the Utah Spring Classic and first in the mile (4:05.33) at the BYU-hosted Robison Invitational.

2022 (SO)
Indoor: Placed fourth in the DMR with a time of 9:53.81, which ranks ninth all-time in school history, at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Finished first in the DMR with a season-best time of 9:52.76, which ranks eighth all-time in Utah State history, at the Washington Invitational, where he also ran a season-best time of 4:07.37 in the mile to place 24th… Finished first in the DMR with a time of 10:22.58 at the BYU Invitational… Won the mile at the Nebraska-hosted Mark Colligan Memorial with a time of 4:12.77… Finished second in the mile with a time of 4:11.36 at the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
Outdoor: Earned first-team All-Mountain West honors after placing third in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:49.23 at the Outdoor Championships… Ran a season-best time of 3:44.96 in the 1,500 meters to place 84th at the Azusa Pacific-hosted Bryan Clay Invitational… Won the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:50.59 at the Utah State-hosted Aggie Invitational.

2021 (FR)
Cross Country (2020): Competed at three meets during the shortened season, including a sixth-place finish in the UNLV Invitational Garnet Race, where he finished in 25:34.2… Helped the Aggies earn the team title at the Dixie State Invitational, finishing 38th with a time of 25:42.2… Was the third Aggie across the finish line in the Florida State Winter Classic Gold Race, placing 42nd with a time of 26:25.3.
Indoor: Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outdoor: Finished eighth in the 1,500 meters with a season-best time of 3:47.77 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Won the Weber State Twilight Meet 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:52.22… Finished fifth in the mile with a season-best time of 4:21.78 at the Utah State-hosted Aggie Invitational… Also placed fifth in the DMR with a career-best time of 9:45.66 at the Drake Relays… Won the Utah Valley Collegiate Invitational 1,500 meters with a time of 3:52.85.

HIGH SCHOOL: A six-time letterwinner in cross country and track & field at Timpanogos High School in Orem, Utah… Recorded career-best times of 50.48 in the 400 meters, 1:53 in the 800 meters, 4:18 in the 1,600 meters, 9:37 in the 3,200 meters and 15:27 in the 5K… Placed first in the 800 meters (1:53.11), fourth in the 400 meters (50.48) and 12th in the 1,600 meters (4:23.80) as a senior at the 2018 5A UHSAA State Track & Field Championships, helping the Timberwolves place fifth as a team… Placed 10th with a time of 15:51.7 at the 2017 5A state cross country championships, where the Timberwolves finished second (out of 16 teams)… Finished ninth overall with a time of 15:25.9 at the 2016 4A state cross country championships to help Timpanogos HS place second… Helped lead the Timberwolves to the 2015 4A state cross country title by placing 19th with a time of 16:09.3… Placed 56th with a time of 16:01.00 to help Alpha T-Wolf finished second at the 2015 Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

PERSONAL: Son of Kevin and Tiffany Benson… His three siblings… Married fellow Aggie cross country and track & field runner Sammi Lee in December of 2021… Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in international studies in August 2024… Pursuing a master’s degree in sport management.

PERSONAL BESTS INCLUDE: