Mark Crandall, a former distance runner for the Aggies, completed his first year as assistant coach and director of operations for Utah State’s track & field and cross country programs.
During the 2024-2025 track and field campaign, Crandall helped coach Utah State distance runners to two conference titles, five school records, six All-MW honors and the Aggie women’s first All-American honor since 2019. With Crandall’s help, eight Aggie runners qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds, the program’s most since 2018.
Shelby Jensen placed seventh and broke the USU record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to lead the women’s team to its best national finish since 2000 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Landon Bott swept the indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles at the conference championships, helping the Aggie men to third-place finishes at both meets.
In the 2024 cross country season, Crandall helped coach Utah State's men's team to its fifth berth in the NCAA Championships. USU finished in 22nd place, defeating three higher-ranked teams.
Camren Todd finished in 25th place with a time of 29:17.4 to earn All-American honors, the seventh Aggie runner and first since 2020 to do so. Additionally, Logan Garnica received the Elite 90 Award, given to the top student-athlete competing at a national championship, for the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Championships. Garnica joined Todd (2020, 2022) as the only USU student-athletes to ever win the Elite 90 Award, which was established in 2009-10.
At the NCAA Mountain Regional, the Aggie men finished in fourth place as Todd earned all-region honors with a 14th-place finish. On the women's side, Emma Thornley took 22nd place to earn all-region honors for the second-straight season.
Garnica started off the cross country postseason with a 13th-place finish at the Mountain West Championships, earning second-team all-conference honors.
As a student-athlete in 2016 and from 2019-2024, Crandall competed at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships three times (2022-2024) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning a career-best finish of 14th-place with a time of 8:50.05 in 2024. Crandall still ranks sixth all-time at USU in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:44.86, set in 2023. In USU’s indoor record book, Crandall ranks 10th all-time in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:06.77, set in 2023. Crandall also raced at the 2020 and 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing 176th with a time of 32:39.6 in 2020 and 158th with a time of 30:40.6 in 2022. Crandall was honored as the Mountain West Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 21, 2021.
Academically, Crandall earned the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 2024, just the sixth Aggie to do so since 2000. Crandall was a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member, a five-time Academic All-MW honoree and an eight-time MW Scholar-Athlete selection.
Crandall, a native of Shelley, Idaho, was an eight-time letterwinner in cross country and track & field at Shelley High School.
Crandall earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Utah State and is currently pursuing a master’s of fitness promotion from USU.
Crandall served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Juiz de Fora, Brazil. He and his wife, Shelby, have two daughters, Madilyn and Emma.