BYU’s Meghan Hunter and Lexy Lowry ran away from the competition to win the 800-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively, during Saturday’s NCAA West prelims track and field competition in College Station, Texas.
Hunter and Lowry were among the nine BYU women who qualified for the NCAA championships. The top 12 in both the NCAA West and East regional competitions qualify for nationals, which will be held in two weeks.
Hunter, the third-fastest collegian of all time, finished with a tremendous time of 1:58.95 in the 800, leaving former NCAA indoor champ Roisin Willis of Stanford a distant second in 1:59.81.
Hunter’s performance broke the stadium record by more than three seconds. Hunter, a senior from Provo who was a high school sprinter, broke the school record she set two weeks ago in winning the Big 12 Conference championships by .04 of a second.
Hunter’s teammate, Tessa Buswell, a sensational freshman talent from California, also advanced to nationals, finishing eighth with a time of 2:02.54.
Lowry, a senior from Idaho who is having a dream season, routed the field in the steeplechase. Her time of 9:23.03 was 17 seconds faster than the runner-up and 15 seconds faster than the stadium record.
It is the latest win in a season that has seen Lowry become the fifth-fastest collegian in history in the 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Lowry’s teammate, Taylor Lovell, a sophomore from Arizona, will join Lowry at nationals after delivering a surprising fourth-place finish in the steeplechase with a time of 9:42.83 — a four-second personal record.
It was a big day for BYU, as the Cougars also qualified five other athletes for the NCAA championships — Carlee Hansen and Riley Chamberlain in the 1,500-meter run, Sami Oblad in the 400-meter dash, Jenna Hutchins in the 5,000-meter run and Gretchen Hoekstre in the discus.
Hansen, a junior from Woods Cross, finished fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:07.64, breaking the school record of 4:08.53 set by Anna Bennett en route to winning the 2021 NCAA championships.
Chamberlain, a junior from California, also broke Bennett’s record and qualified for nationals, finishing seventh with a time of 4:08.42. Northern Arizona’s Maggi Congdon won the race in 4:05.73.
Hansen has made remarkable progress since transferring from North Carolina to BYU in 2023. In two seasons at BYU she has improved her personal record by eight and a half seconds. Her husband and teammate, Creed Thompson, also qualified for nationals in the 10,000-meter run earlier in the week.
Oblad finished fifth overall in the 400-meter dash to advance to nationals. She took third place in her heat with a time of 51.29, well off the school record of 50.49 she set three weeks ago.
It marks the first time since 2013 that a BYU woman has qualified for nationals in the 400.
Hutchins, a junior from Tennessee, placed third in her heat and third overall in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:49.95. Paityn Noe of Arkansas was the winner with a time of 15:43.45.
Hoekstre, a senior from Oregon, placed 10th in the discus with a throw of 179 feet, one inch. She also qualified for nationals in the shot put during Thursday night’s competition.
Other in-state athletes who qualified for the NCAA championships:
- Utah State’s Shelby Jensen, a sophomore from Saratoga Springs, qualified for nationals with the day’s 10th-fastest time, 10:00.46.
- The University of Utah 4 x 100 relay team was 10th with a time of 43.85,
- Southern Utah’s Ajia Hughes placed 11th in the high jump with a clearance of 5-11 ¼.