Taylor Lovell 1st in steeplechase as BYU track and field adds 10 NCAA championship bids
May 31, 2026, 12:18 AM | Updated: Jun 2, 2026, 12:55 pm
Taylor Lovell set a Big 12 and facility record with a a first-place finish of 9:40.98 to win the 3000-meter steeplechase, pushing BYU into the lead of the team competition at the Big 12 Championships at Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. (Courtesy: BYU Photo)
(Courtesy: BYU Photo)
PROVO — Steeplechase U. once again lived up to the hype in BYU track and field’s latest achievement.
The Cougar women carried the banner Saturday evening.
Taylor Lovell pulled away for a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9 minutes, 38.36 seconds on the final day of the NCAA West preliminary round in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Raygan Dimond added a fourth-place steeplechase finish in 10:03.02, and Utah’s Mackenzie Rogers also qualified for next week’s NCAA Championships in 10th place with a time of 10:08.03.
In all, the BYU women’s track and field team secured 10 entries at the NCAA Championships, which run June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
With the win, Lovell — the senior from Gilbert, Arizona, who won the Big 12 steeplechase title in 9:40.98 — earned a third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. It’s the first championship visit for Dimond.
Jane Hedengren wrapped up her first NCAA West regional appearance with a third-place finish in the 5,000-meter run in 15:17.93, securing a double qualification after finishing first in the 10,000-meter prelim Thursday.
Tessa Buswell and Krystie Solomon-Jensen each punched a ticket in the 800-meter race, finishing 10th and 12th in 2:02.02 and 2:02.21, respectively.
Kaiah Fisher will mark BYU’s third consecutive trip to nationals in the discus after the Stanford transfer launched the plate 54.67 meters (179-4) for fourth in her heat and 11th overall.
Seniors Carlee Hansen-Thompson and Carmen Alder both qualified in the 1,500 meters, taking eighth and ninth in 4:09.46 and 4:09.77, respectively.
𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐍 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/n1359gxhS7
— BYU Track & Field/Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) May 31, 2026
RELATED STORIES
Paje Rasmussen will run in the 100- and 200-meters in Eugene after finishing 12th in 11.13 and 22.86 seconds. The mark will be BYU’s first championship appearance in the 200 in 16 years.
Utah sophomore Chelsea Amoah added the Utes’ second national qualifier on the day with a top-12 time of 22.85, booking a spot in the third and final heat of the event.
