OREM, Utah — The Utah Valley University women's outdoor track & field team made program history on Monday after entering the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 poll. The team is ranked No. 24 and in the rankings for the first time ever.
The women also boast the 5th-ranked 10,000-meter team in the Event Squad rankings behind the quartet of
Everlyn Kemboi,
Mazzie Melaney Preston,
Madison Flippence, and
Ari Trimble. Kemboi is third in the nation in the 10k and Melaney Preston is 15th after the two posted the top two times in program history at the Stanford Invitational.
The same four are also part of the 5,000-meter event squad team that is ranked 11th in the country. Kemboi and Melaney Preston recorded the top two times in UVU's history at last weekend's Bryan Clay Invitational. Kemboi's time of 15:20.6 is tops in the country this season while Melaney Preston is 32nd.
Kelsi Oldroyd is also ranked among the national leaders in the javelin at No. 13 in the country, which also leads the WAC. Kemboi leads the WAC in the 10k, 5k, and 1,500, an event she also set a school record in on Friday night at the Bryan Clay.
Including the 10k and 5k, the UVU women are in the top 50 in the national event squad rankings in seven categories. The other five are the 400m (22nd), 100m (27th), long jump (39th), high jump (41st), and discus (45th).
On the men's side, the high jump foursome of
Aiden Garnett,
Seth Krauss,
Jeffrey Duvinston, and
Carter Cook is the No. 3-ranked event squad in the country. The men are also 35th in the pole vault and 47th in the 5,000. The long jump group is just outside the top 50, at No. 51, with
Aaron Johnson's school-record jump (7.92m) from last week currently No. 12 in the nation.