Two Idaho athletes favored to win national track titles. When they’ll race, how to watch
Seven athletes from Idaho will compete at the NCAA national track and field championships this week, including a pair who enter as the No. 1 seeds in their events.
The men’s and women’s outdoor national meets kick off Wednesday in Austin, Texas, before finishing Saturday. All races will be aired on either ESPN2 or ESPN+.
Here’s an Idaho-based rooting guide for the entire week.
Nathan Green
The Borah High graduate didn’t run a single race this spring until the Pac-12 championships last month. Then he promptly won the 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 42.22 seconds, leading Washington’s men’s team to its first Pac-12 title.
The sophomore enters as the No. 1 overall seed in the 1,500 after recording a preliminary quarterfinal time of 3:38.13. The reigning U-20 national champ in the event also was a first-team All-American last spring, finishing seventh in the 1,500.
The semifinals start 5:46 p.m. Wednesday with the finals to follow at 7:12 p.m. Friday.
James Onanubosi
The freshman and anchor of Arizona’s 4x100-meter relay team led the Wildcats to the No. 1 seed after winning the NCAA preliminary quarterfinal at 38.83 seconds, breaking a school record that has stood since 1990.
The Bishop Kelly High grad leads the Wildcats into the semifinals at 5:32 p.m. Wednesday. The finals would follow at 7:02 p.m. Friday.
Kade McCall
Idaho high schools don’t offer the hammer throw as part of their traditional lineup. But the Timberline grad already has one All-American honor under his belt in the event, finishing 13th at nationals last season with a throw of 67.71 meters.
The Kansas State junior will look to make the All-American team yet again when the hammer throw starts at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. His west prelim throw of 68.94 meters makes him the No. 14 seed.
Peyton Bair
The freshman from Kimberly wrapped up his national championship berth early by finishing third in the decathlon at the SEC Championships. He set personal bests at the meet in the long jump (7.45 meters), shot put (13.85) and 100-meter hurdles (13.99), leading to a personal-best 7,903 points in the decathlon.
That makes him the No. 10 seed in the decathlon, which runs throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Bair attends Mississippi State.
Jacob Englar
After winning a Pac-12 title and finishing 17th at nationals for Washington State last season, the Nampa Christian graduate transferred to Washington. He took second at the Pac-12 Championships (17 feet, 9.25 inches) and 11th at the west prelims (17-4.5) to punch his ticket to Austin.
He enters as the No. 19 seed as he looks to add another All-American honor to his mantle during the men’s pole vault finals at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Lexy Halladay-Lowry
The Mountain View High grad finished 34th at the cross country national championships, leading BYU to an eighth-place finish. Now the sophomore looks to improve upon her 23rd-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last year.
She shaved 45 seconds off her time from last year’s national track finals, running a 9:46.02 at the west prelims to earn the No. 7 seed entering the semifinals at 7:02 p.m. Thursday. Should she make it, the finals follow at 7:24 p.m. Saturday.
MaLeigha Menegatti
The Boise State senior follows her appearance at the indoor national championships with a trip to the outdoor national meet in the 800. She claimed a Mountain West title in the event at 2:02.41, then followed that with a fourth-place finish at the west prelims at 2:04.83.
She starts as the No. 8 seed in the women’s 800-meter semifinal at 8:14 p.m. Thursday. A strong performance there would earn her a spot in the finals at 8:14 p.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 2:14 PM.
