Utah State University Athletics

HONORS: All-Region: Cross Country (2022); Second-Team All-Mountain West: Cross Country (2021); Mountain West Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week (10/1/19); Academic All-Mountain West (2019 T&F, 2019 XC, 2020 T&F, 2020 XC, 2022 XC, 2023 T&F); Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2020 XC).

INDOOR RECORDS: Ranks second all-time at USU in both the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters with respective times of 9:23.90 and 16:21.42, both set in 2023... Ranks fifth all-time at USU in the mile with a time of 4:49.20, set in 2023.

OUTDOOR RECORDS: School record holder in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters with respective times of 16:07.73 and 32:57.50, both set in 2023... Also ranks sixth all-time at USU in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:25.58, set in 2023, and eighth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:54.04, set in 2019.

2023 (GR)
Cross Country (2022): One of two individuals to represent Utah State at the NCAA Championships, where she placed 201st with a 6K time of 21:21.4… Garnered all-region accolades by placing 22nd with a 6K time of 20:40.5 at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships… Finished 15th with a 6K time of 20:27.2 at the Mountain West Championships, helping the Aggies place third as a team… Placed 25th with a 6K time of 20:06.0 at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run to help Utah State place fourth out of 46 teams… The fourth Aggie to cross the finish line at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, placing 158th with a 6K time of 21:17.1.
Indoor: Placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Mountain West Indoor Championships with a career-best time of 16:21.42, ranking second all-time at USU, also finishing fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:30.84… Won the 5,000 meters at the Washington Invitational with a time of 16:24.57… Placed 46th in the mile at the Washington-hosted Husky Classic with a career-best time of 4:49.20, ranking fifth all-time at USU, also placing 28th in the 3,000 meters with a career-best time of 9:23.90, ranking second all-time at USU.
Outdoor: Placed 23rd in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships with a school-record time of 16:07.73… Also finished 16th in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA West Prelims with a time of 33:14.18… Placed sixth in the 1,500 meters at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships with a career-best time of 4:25.58, ranking sixth all-time at USU, after qualifying through the preliminary rounds with a time of 4:25.87 in seventh place… Placed 17th in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational with a school-record time of 32:57.50… Earned academic all-MW honors.

2022 (SR)
Cross Country (2021): Placed 135th with a time of 20:44.2 at the NCAA Championships as Utah State finished 28th as a team… Recorded a time of 21:22.7 at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships to place 39th over­all and help the Aggies to a seventh-place team finish… Earned second-team all-Mountain West honors after placing 12th with a time of 20:07.7 at the conference championships, helping the Aggies to a second-place team finish… Placed sixth overall with a time of 16:37.40 to help Utah State to a first-place team finish at the Montana State Invitational… Finished 17th at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run with a time of 20:27.2 to help the Ag­gies place third out of 38 teams… Placed 72nd with a time of 21:08.3 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.
Indoor: Placed 14th in the 3,000 meters with a career-best time of 9:41.21, which ranks fourth all-time in school history, at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Ran a personal-best time of 16:45.86 in the 5,000 meters, which ranks fifth all-time in school history, to place seventh at the Washington Invitational… Finished second in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:53.70 at the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
Outdoor: Ranked 48th in the event coming into the meet, placed 14th in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 34:09.64, which ranks second all-time in school history, at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships… Placed ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a career-best time of 10:25.93, which ranks eighth all-time in Utah State history, at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, where she also finished ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:30.04… Placed third in the 5,000 meters with a career-best time of 16:19.61, which ranks third all-time in school history, at the Azusa Pacific-hosted Bryan Clay Invitational… Opened the season by placing sixth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:23.08 at the Stanford Invitational… Placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:28.40 at the Fresno State Invitational... Named a Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete.

2021 (JR)
Cross Country (2020): Placed 29th at the Mountain West Championships with a time of 21:16.0… Led the way for the Aggies at the Dixie State Invitational, earning a second-place finish with a time of 20:43.4 as USU captured the team title… Was the second Utah State finisher in the Florida State Winter Classic Garnet Race, crossing the finish line in 21:06.1 to place 37th… Earned academic all-MW and MW Scholar-Athlete honors.
Indoor: Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outdoor: Finished eighth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 35:26.04 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Finished ninth in the same event with a season-best time of 35:20.27 at the Drake Relays… Won the Utah State-hosted Aggie Invitational 5,000 meters with a time of 17:16.21.

2020 (SO)
Cross Country (2019): Placed 51st at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships and 35th at the Mountain West Championships with times of 21:20.5 and 21:24.4, respectively… Tabbed the MW Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week after finishing first among Aggie competitors, and fourth overall out of 55 runners, with a time of 17:25.60 at the Montana State Cross Country Classic… Led the Aggies to the team title with 30 points at the MSU Classic… Was also the top Aggie finisher at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run, placing 56th with a time of 20:56.6… Finished 150th with a time of 21:39.8 at the Wisconsin-hosted Nuttycombe Invitational… Earned academic all-MW honors.
Indoor: Placed 22nd in the 3,000 meters with a season-best time of 10:14.78 at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, where she also finished 19th in the prelims of the mile with a time of 5:10.17… Ran season-best time of 17:27.28 in the 5,000 meters at the Washington Invitational... Earned academic all-MW honors.
Outdoor: Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 (FR)
Cross Country (2018): Placed 54th with a time of 21:20.4 at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships… Finished 41st with a time of 22:36.0 at the Mountain West Championship… Ran in five races for the Aggies during the season with her best finish coming at the Utah State-hosted Sagebrush Invitational, where she placed fourth with a time of 18:31.99… Finished 66th with a time of 21:54 at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run… Placed 158th with a time of 22:22.0 at Pre-Nationals.
Indoor: Placed 29th in the 3,000 meters with a season-best time of 10:19.94 and 13th in the prelims of the mile with a personal-best time of 5:03.46 at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Finished second in the 5,000 meters with a season-best time of 17:52.94 at the Boise State-hosted Jackson’s/Nike Boise Indoor… Also ran career-best time of 12:02.39 in the DMR at the Washington Invitational.
Outdoor: Placed fourth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:28.21 at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships... Placed 12th in the 5,000 meters with a season-best time of 16:41.79 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Captured her first-career title by placing first in the 3,000 meters with a career-best time of 9:54.04, which ranks eighth all-time in USU history, at the UC Irvine-hosted Collegiate Classic… Earned academic all-MW honors.

HIGH SCHOOL: A six-time letterwinner in cross country and track & field at Herriman (Utah) High School… Participated at the prestigious Foot Locker West Regional during her senior year… Was a region champion in cross country… Earned all-state honors in cross country as a senior in 2017 after placing 10th with a time of 18:32 and helping the Mustangs finish seventh as a team with 166 points at the 6A state championships… Placed fifth in the 3,200 meters (11:18.42) and eighth in the 800 meters (2:21.54) to help Herriman HS finish runner-up at the 6A state track & field championships in 2018… Finished eighth in the 3,200 meters (11:15.12) at the 5A state track & field championships as a junior during the 2016-17 academic year… Helped lead Herriman HS to a state track & field championship as a sophomore… Recorded career-best times of 5:05 in the 1,600 meters, 10:51 in the 3,200 meters, 18:24 in the 5K and 18:05 in the 3-mile… Was a member of the National Honor Society and made the Honor Roll at Herriman HS.

PERSONAL: One of three children of Jorge and Karina Rivera… Full name is Micaela Almendra Rivera… Majoring in marketing.

PERSONAL BESTS INCLUDE: