COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Sophomore Shelby Jensen punched her ticket to the 2025 National Championships as three women representing Utah State women’s track & field team raced at the 2025 NCAA West First Rounds in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.
“We are super proud of how everyone competed,” said Artie Gulden, USU’s director of track & field and cross country. “We’re very grateful that Logan (Hammer) and Shelby will be representing our teams at the NCAA Championships in a couple of weeks. They both did a great job managing the pressure of this meet and getting through.”
Jensen’s memorable run came in the second heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals, where she finished second with a time of 10:00.46. The native of Saratoga Springs, Utah, became the first Utah State woman to qualify for nationals since Cierra Simmons-Mecham qualified in the same event in 2019. Jensen sat in fourth place in the heat with one lap remaining but finished the race with a final lap time of 1:09.79, the fastest of any of the 96 women competing in the event at either the West or East prelims.
In the evening, senior Emma Thornley and junior Sarah Ellis raced in the second heat of the 5,000 meters, where Thornley finished in 16:27.03 and Ellis clocked in at 17:13.39 to claim overall finishes of 28th and 46th, respectively. Thornley, competing in her second event of the NCAA West First Rounds, concluded her storied Aggie career with two all-region honors in cross country and four Aggie all-time top-10 times, including the school record in the 5,000 meters. Ellis, who held that school record earlier this season before being passed by Thornley, took part in her first career NCAA preliminary race.
“We had some other really good performances,” said Gulden. “The men’s 4×100-meter relay team was so close, and the future looks bright for those four guys who are only freshmen. We are very grateful for the seniors that are here for whom this was their last competition representing Utah State. We’re very thankful for everything they’ve done for the program.”
Jensen and junior Logan Hammer will next compete at the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday, June 11-14. Hammer qualified earlier this week for the men’s pole vault final, which will take place on Wednesday, June 11 at 5:35 p.m. (MT). The semifinals of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase are scheduled for Thursday, June 12 at 5:38 p.m. (MT). Broadcast coverage of the championships will be on the ESPN family of networks.
Fans can follow the Utah State track and field programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthleticsor on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
2025 NCAA West First Rounds – Day 4
E.B. Cushing Stadium | College Station, Texas | May 31, 2025
USU Women’s Results:
|
Event (Heat) |
USU Finishers (qualifiers for next round in bold) |
|
3,000-Meter Steeplechase (2) |
2. Shelby Jensen, 10:00.46. |
|
5,000 Meters (2) |
15. Emma Thornley, 16:27.03; 23. Sarah Ellis, 17:13.39. |
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