Green & Golden: CSU Men Win 2026 Mountain West Championship

CLOVIS, Calif. – Colorado State track & field delivered a storybook ending to the Rams' time in the Mountain West as the men's team captured the 2026 MW Outdoor Track & Field championship on Saturday evening.

The Rams won the meet – which is the final conference championship event for Colorado State as members of the MW – by amassing an impressive 200 points, dominating with depth and finding points from all disciplines. It marked a second-consecutive indoor/outdoor sweep for the Colorado State men, while the women's team put up a valiant fight with 135.5 points to finish runner-up.

"These guys know how to compete like champions," coach Brian Bedard said. "Hard workers, grinders. Just proud of the staff and the athletes for putting it all together. We put together some projections on what we thought we could do, and then we exceeded those. To hit the 200-point mark far exceeds what we thought we could do."

The Rams led the meet start to finish, earning big points in the men's hammer throw on Thursday to put them in front early. Leads can evaporate quickly in a championship meet, but Colorado State was unrelenting in its push for the championship.

"These guys are maybe not the most talented team we've ever had, but we just have some guys that are really committed to each other. There's kind of a brotherhood here. If you're getting in a fight, you want to have them with you because these guys know how to fight, they know how to compete. Just the competitive mindset with this group and a closeness and camaraderie that is pretty rare.

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Seniors Shine in 400 Hurdles
Every senior dreams of capping their collegiate career on top. For Carsen Bruns and Neya Jamison, they did just that in their respective 400 hurdles competitions. But the story of each athlete's season looked very different.

For Jamison, she had been one of the favorites to win the event all season long. But after a near disaster in qualifying, the Ram found herself just inside the cut. That didn't stop her from closing down the competition and clocking a blazing 57.02 for a personal best.

"I did not put out my best on Thursday, nor yesterday in the prelims," Jamison said. "I just know how much I've trained and how much I've prepared for this moment mentally and physically. And I just knew that it was my day. It didn't matter what lane I was in I just kept envisioning passing everybody in that last 50 and coming out on top. I knew it was going to happen."

The senior campaign for Bruns started slow. A lackluster indoor season by his standards crept into the early portions of the outdoor campaign, and at one point it looked as if he may miss the conference roster. But with each passing week he ran faster and faster, setting a PR meet after meet.

"I kind of just realized that this is the last I'll ever have," Bruns said. "I've got to give it everything I can, nothing left in the tank, no regrets. And this is what the product has been."

The Colorado Springs native made the final turn on Saturday with distance to make up, but he utilized impressive closing speed to make it a two-horse race. As the runners approached the finish line, they lunged out in one last attempt to snatch victory. A photo finish. A 0.01 victory for Bruns.

"Nothing is more memorable than a photo finish," he said with a smile on his face and a gold medal around his neck.

Bruns clocked a time of 50.88, a PR and the No. 6 time in program history. In the process, the senior put himself in a position to qualify for NCAA Regionals.

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Men's Discus
CSU had a massive day in the men's discus as all five Ram competitors set PRs, averaging nearly eight feet of increases across the group. At the forefront of the day was sophomore Adam Hellbom, who took a bronze medal behind his throw of 58.48/191-10. Despite being a sport driven by individual performances, Hellbom credits the big day to the power of a team.

"We've been spending a lot of time together and I feel like we're a lot closer as a team this year than even last year," Hellbom said. "I wouldn't have hit that last throw if it wasn't for Leo (Ramos) passing me. I'm a competitive guy, so I was like I have to give everything I have and just see if I can get it now. Either way it would have gone, if he would have won or if I would have won, I would have been happy because we're working toward a greater good. This is the championship."

Ramos' mark was a thundering 57.76m/189-6 PR, one that pushed his teammate Hellbom to go even further. Ramos finished the day in fourth and was followed right behind by fellow Rams Alex Jensen (56.55m/185-6) and Daniel Baroumbaye (56.32m/184-9), racking up a total of 18 points for the greater good. The championship.

The individual cause was improved as well. Entering the day neither of the four Rams were projected to qualify for NCAA Regionals in two weeks. After the memorable display, the quartet essentially punched their tickets to Arkansas together.

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Annual Tradition
A year ago, Kajsa Borrman, Klaire Kovatch and Makayla Long shared the podium together after a sweep of the discus at the 2025 outdoor conference championships. On Saturday, they did the exact same thing.

Kovatch defender her gold medal in the event and led a 1-2-3 finish for Colorado State, with Borrman taking silver and Long taking bronze – a swap of last year's results. The trio were joined by Katy Taylor (5th), Jed Van Der Heijden (7th) and Erin Brown (8th) in scoring a massive 31 for CSU.

"I think it really just speaks to our culture," Kovatch said. "It's not common to have a throws team with as many girls dominating, and with the depth that we have it's pretty unheard of. But it's also not the first time it's happened with us, right? I've been on multiple teams where the girls just show up and show out. This whole meet I've been a little nostalgic because it's the last one. I was thinking back to when I was first here and the girls that I got to compete with and the bar that they set for me. The ability for me to just rise to that occasion has been rewarding, and I just feel like I'm carrying on their legacy that they set."

Kovatch led start to finish to defend her gold medal in the event, throwing a 58.39m/191-7 on her fifth attempt to pad her lead. Borrman made a late push at the gold medal, unleashing an incredible mark of 58.07-190-6, which was a personal record by nearly four meters and moved her into the top 10 in program history. That mark put Borrman in front of Long, who also recorded a massive PR with her 56.63m/185-9 that surpassed her previous best by nearly 10 feet.

The performances were well deserving of the smiles that were had atop the podium as Borrman invited each of her teammates to join her on the top rung. With Kovatch and Long graduating this semester, the annual tradition will have to come to an end, but the trios dominant displays will be remembered for years to come.

"I just love the little nickname that we have now as the 'Three-Headed Dragon," Kovatch said. "Kajsa takes the hammer dub, Mak takes the hammer dub and I finish it off with a discus win. I just think it shows that we are so well rounded, but we each have our strengths. I just love being up there with those girls."

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Finishing Touches
The men's squad continued to rack up points in a variety of areas, including a trio of gold medals courtesy of Kenny Carpenter, Trenton Givens and Ndayiragije Shukurani. Carpenter entered the week as the favorite to win the men's 400, and met expectations and made light work of the field as he finished a half second in front with his time of 45.84.

Givens was one of four Rams in the 110 hurdle field, joined by Owen Langdon, Bruns and Jack Wetterling. The Arizona native ran a clean race and surged ahead, crossing the line in 13.55 to win his first medal for the Rams. Langdon finished just behind in third, while Bruns also collected points in sixth.

Coming off a gold medal in the high jump on Friday, Shukurani found himself as the favorite once again as the triple jump competition began. The sophomore opened strong with a 15.34m/50-4, but needed more to surpass Boise State's Aayden Simmons' mark which was a half inch further. Shukurani delivered on his fourth jump, soaring 15.50m/50-10.25 to push into the lead and ultimately secure a second gold medal.

Another standout performance came in the men's 1,500 thanks to freshman Parker Westermann. Westermann had already delivered a top-10 time in program history earlier this season, and was looking to deliver another memorable outing as he stepped to the line on Saturday. The young Ram met the moment as he clocked a 4:04.19, finishing with a bronze medal and adding six points to the CSU total.

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