- BYU's Taylor Lovell won the 2026 NCAA 3000m steeplechase in 9:21.03 after two straight ninth-place finishes, then was named the USTFCCCA's outdoor Co-National Scholar Athlete of the Year. Now a senior, she is scoring for No. 1 BYU's cross country team.
- Taylor Lovell, BYU Women's Cross Country connect back to Brigham Young University and the wider track & field picture.
- The story is backed by 15 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 31, 2026
October 31, 2026
4 min / 917 words
15 official links
Taylor Lovell won the 3000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on June 13, 2026. She ran 9:21.03, a personal best, and finished 5.5 seconds ahead of Notre Dame's Sophie Novak, who ran 9:26.53.
BYU's recap said Lovell sat behind Novak for most of the race and pulled away in the final 200 meters. It made her the fifth BYU woman to win the event, after Elizabeth Jackson in 2001, Michaela Mannova in 2002, Kassi Anderson in 2003 and Courtney Wayment in 2022.
"When I got to BYU, I was basically a walk-on," she said on BYU's "Y's Guys" livestream in early July, the Deseret News reported.
The final in Eugene
Behind Lovell and Novak, Alabama freshman Cynthia Jemutai was third in 9:33.36 and NC State's Angelina Napoleon fourth in 9:35.56, Track & Field News reported. Alabama's Doris Lemngole, the collegiate record holder, did not run the steeplechase. BYU teammate Raygan Peterson ran 10:25.18 in the same final and earned Second Team All-America, and Lovell became BYU's first outdoor national champion since Courtney Wayment in 2022.
"My plan didn't change. I just wanted to come out better than I went in," Lovell told Track & Field News about Lemngole's absence. On joining BYU's line of steeplechase champions, she said: "It's really exciting to be able to continue a legacy like that."
Two ninths before the title
She had been close before. Lovell finished ninth in the steeplechase in both 2024 and 2025, earning Second Team All-America both times, by her BYU bio. At the Big 12 Championships she was runner-up in both of those seasons.
In 2026 she won both. At the Big 12 meet at Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., on May 15, she ran 9:40.98 and won by more than 13 seconds, which BYU said set Big 12 Championship and facility records and was the program's first conference win in the event. West Virginia's Mercy Kinyanjui was second in 9:54.27. At the same meet she was sixth in the 5000 meters in 15:57.36. She finished first in her NCAA West First Round heat in 9:38.36 to qualify for Eugene, then was fourth in her semifinal heat on June 11 in 9:39.96 to reach the final.
Her 9:21.03 in Eugene cut nearly six seconds off the 9:26.99 she had run at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, Track & Field News reported. It is the third-fastest steeplechase in BYU history, by the program's season review.
She credited her coach. "She's the one who believed in me, and kept me moving forward, even when I didn't believe in myself," she told Track & Field News of Diljeet Taylor.
From Gilbert, Arizona
Lovell grew up in Gilbert, Arizona, and ran for Perry High School, where her BYU bio says she won the 2022 Arizona state title in the 3200 meters and ran on the state-champion 4x800 relay. She was also a three-year varsity soccer player. Her father, Jon, played extramural soccer at BYU, and her sister Londyn plays soccer at Utah Valley. Arizona, Utah, Gonzaga, Air Force, Cornell and Northern Arizona all recruited her, by the bio.
She has range beyond the barriers. On April 3, 2026, she won the 5000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in 15:15.46, which BYU lists as the fourth-fastest 5000 in program history.
The classroom
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Lovell its outdoor Co-National Scholar Athlete of the Year on July 20, 2026, and BYU said she was the first BYU woman to win it. She was also a CSC First Team Academic All-American, as an exercise and wellness major with a 3.60 GPA.
"The journey has been such a long and incredible one," she said on that livestream.
Back on the grass
BYU's 2026 cross country roster lists Lovell as a senior. She was fourth at the UVU Invitational on Sept. 4 (16:04.57 over three miles), ninth at the Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 26, and 14th at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 16, four places better than in 2025, as BYU beat No. 1 NC State for the team title.
At the Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Okla., on Oct. 31, she was 15th in 20:03.0, BYU's fourth scorer, staying between 10th and 15th throughout, as the No. 1 Cougars won their fourth straight conference title and Jane Hedengren took the individual crown. Her bio lists her on BYU's 2024 NCAA championship team. Her own NCAA cross country finishes have climbed: 88th in 2024 and 55th in 2025, when she ran a 6K personal best of 19:35.4, by TFRRS. She was All-Mountain Region in 2024 and All-Big 12 in 2025, when she was 11th at the conference meet.
"I'm surrounded by the best people and by the best support system," she said on the same livestream.
BYU women's cross country races next at the NCAA Mountain Regional in Albuquerque on Nov. 13, then the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 21.
Key facts:
- Athlete: Taylor Lovell, senior, BYU women's cross country and track and field
- Hometown: Gilbert, Arizona (Perry High School)
- National title: 2026 NCAA 3000m steeplechase, June 13, 2026, Hayward Field, 9:21.03
- Margin: 5.5 seconds over Notre Dame's Sophie Novak (9:26.53)
- Conference title: 2026 Big 12 steeplechase, 9:40.98, a meet and facility record
- Before 2026: ninth at the NCAA Championships in 2024 and 2025, Second Team All-America both years
- Academics: 2026 USTFCCCA outdoor Co-National Scholar Athlete of the Year
- Next: NCAA Mountain Regional, Nov. 13, 2026, Albuquerque
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