BYU’s prowess in the 3,000-meter steeplechase continued Saturday night at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., where junior Taylor Lovell pulled off an upset victory.
Lovell, who had the third-fastest entry time, had finished in ninth place in the last two NCAA championships. This time, she bided her time behind the leaders and then ran away from them on the gun lap.
In the process, she posted a massive personal record of 9:21.03 — seven seconds faster than her previous best. Lovell’s performance helped BYU finished 12th in the team race, with 22 points.
Like many of the other distance races, the steeplechase was a slow, tactical affair, with no one wanting to risk pushing the pace in the hot, humid conditions.
Lovell was content to run in third place for much of the race, with Alabama’s Cynthia Jemutai on her heels and North Carolina State’s Angelina Napoleon and Notre Dame’s Sophie Novak leading.
The foursome picked up the pace with a 75-second fourth lap to pull away from the field, then they squeezed the pace again with a 73-second third lap.
With two laps to go, Lovell moved into second place, stalking Novak. With 500 meters to go, Novak and Lovell surged and it was now a two-woman race.
With 300 meters to go, Lovell passed Novak and the latter could not respond. She finished in second, 5 ½ seconds behind Lovell.
“I did everything I wanted to do and followed the race plan,” Lovell said afterward. “It was really fun!”
BYU has become Steeplechase U. the last six years, winning four NCAA championships in that event during that time, as well as four U.S. championships, three Olympic berths and one Olympic silver medal.
In the NCAA championships, Courtney Wayment won the 2022 race, Kenneth Rooks won the 2023 race, James Corrigan won the 2025 race and now Lovell has won the 2026 race.
Lexy Halladay probably produced the best NCAA race of them all. She finished second last year while smashing the American collegiate record (9:08.68, still the eighth-fastest time by any American).
Halladay went on to win the U.S. championship; Rooks, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, will attempt to win his fourth straight U.S. championship next week.
Only minutes before Lovell’s victory, BYU’s Carlee Hansen and Carmen Alder scored points for the team (top 8 finishers) in the 1,500-meter run.
Hansen, a senior from Woods Cross who transferred from North Carolina three years ago, finished fifth in a painfully tactical (read: slow) 1,500-meter run.
The winner was Rosemary Longisa, a sophomore from Washington State and Kenya. Her time of 4:12.10 was by far the slowest winning time since 2014.
Hansen finished with a time of 4:13.66. In Thursday’s semifinals she posted a personal-record time of 4:07.08, making her the second fastest in school history.
Alder was eighth with a time of 4:15.26, about eight seconds slower than her personal best.
Later in the evening, Jane Hedengren, BYU’s record-setting freshman from Provo, toed the line for the 5,000-meter final, 48 hours after placing third in the 10,000.
After setting NCAA records in both the 10,000 and the 5,000 this season, she was deemed one of the favorites in both races. Through the first half of Saturday’s 5,000, she tucked in behind the leaders, but with about five laps to go in this 12 ½ -lap race she swept into the lead.
Having lost the 10,000 by trying to kick on the gun lap, this time she made her move much earlier, trying to shake her speedier rivals.
With 1,000 meters to go, the towering 6-foot Hedengren was still in the lead, but she had a huge crowd of followers on her heels, and they swept by her with two laps to go.
Hedengren wilted, finishing ninth with a time of 15:22.88.
The race was won by Doris Lemingole, a junior from Alabama and Kenya, with a time of 15:11.71. Kenyans took the top eight places.
The following is a list of Utah collegians who scored in this week’s NCAA track and field championships:
1st – Ben Barton, BYU, decathlon
1st – Taylor Lovell, BYU, steeplechase
2nd – Logan Hammer, USU, pole vault
3rd – Jane Hedengren, BYU, 10,000 meters
5th – Carlee Hansen, BYU, 1,500 meters
8th – Carter Cutting, BYU, 1,500 meters
8th – Carmen Alder, BYU, 1,500 meters
8th – Jenna Hutchins, BYU, 10,000 meters
8th - Isaac Hedengren, BYU, 5,000 meters