Ayodele Ojo Jr. breaks Utah State sprint record with eyes set on leading the nation
After the Snake River Open meet held in Pocatello, Idaho, Track and Field Aggies came home with nine titles and 21 podiums across all the events. Leading the charge was sophomore sprinter Ayodele Ojo Jr., who broke multiple Utah State University records and positioned himself near the top of the nation in the 60-meter.
At the event, Ojo broke the USU record of 6.61 seconds, set by Nic Bowens in 2014. Posting a time of 6.55, Ojo not only broke the long-standing Aggie record but also landed No. 3 in the nation for the 60-meter. Despite the success, Ojo is still looking to improve on his time and become No. 1 in the nation.
Rodney Burkes, assistant coach and sprints coach for USU Track and Field, said he believes reaching No. 1 in the nation is only a matter of time for Ojo.
“Running the third-fastest time in the country — I mean, he’s stepping into the elite of the elites,” Burkes said. “We’re going to try to win nationals like we’re going to go after it. We’re going to try to come home with the dub and shock the world and put everybody on notice that Utah State and Ojo are here and we belong.”
Despite the success, Ojo admitted at one point, he couldn’t really imagine himself standing where he is right now.
“I started track around middle school. I wasn’t really too involved. I was more focused on football. When I got to high school, I kind of noticed that maybe football isn’t for me. So, around my sophomore, junior year, that’s kind of when I started focusing on track, and in my senior year, I ran number 12 time in the nation,” Ojo said. “Texas is very fast, so 12th wasn’t really getting looked at by teams. I ran a bit late in the season, so I didn’t really get that many schools looking at me, but, you know, Rodney found me and gave me a chance.”
When Burkes found Ojo, he knew Ojo had the potential to be great if the staff could help him unlock it.
“The time he ran was solid. He ran like 10.4 or something, but the crazy part was that he got fourth in the race, but that’s just Texas. You know, Texas speed is just different. But when I was watching him, he got out the blocks kind of late, but the way he accelerated and started running the field — I knew that this kid had some wheels and something in there, and the kids that he lost to were some really, really elite kids, so he stood out,” Burkes said. “That’s when I thought, ‘Alright, so we got that guy that’s kind of under the radar, but he’s going at the top kids with confidence. That’s the type of guy that we need.’”
Before Burkes found him, Ojo had been considering moving on from track and athletics entirely.
“I was planning on going to the military by my second semester of high school. My senior year, I already had the papers filled out around two weeks before I ran my fastest time in high school,” Ojo said. “I was at the office doing my fingerprints, and the recruiter looked at me and asked, ‘Hey, do you really want to do this?’ and I told him I wasn’t sure, so he told me to come back in a few weeks to see how I felt. I took that as an opportunity, and two weeks later, I ran the fastest time. From there, Rodney gave me a chance, and I took it automatically.”
Ojo’s arrival at USU was only the beginning of his journey, according to Burkes.
“I didn’t think he was going to make it. Last year, his freshman year, he was quitting workouts. He was dying. He just couldn’t finish it. His teammates were like, ‘What’s going on here?’ It was just an adjustment for him, but he came back,” Burkes said. “I had to learn Ojo during the workouts at the beginning of the season. Now he’s killing it. So, you can just see his athleticism, his maturity and just his strength and stamina are just through the roof now.”
From Burkes’ perspective, Ojo hasn’t only grown as an athlete but as a leader as well, helping support and motivate his teammates.
“If I’m helping somebody at hurdles or something, for example, I can turn around and look over, and then he’s teaching somebody how to get out of the block. He’s sharing with them something that he and I worked on that can help his teammates,” Burkes said. “He’ll share about his mindset so that he can set up his race better and help others. He’s definitely taking a leadership role with everybody: his brothers, little brother and sisters.”
All of these adjustments and changes helped Ojo find his passion and purpose for track, ultimately helping him to push to reach the highest level possible.
“My purpose is to win — just win. Everything that I do, no matter the cost, I will do whatever it takes just to win. There’s no certain time or goal I’m looking for,” Ojo said. “All I want to do is be number one. I want to be at the top, and I don’t care who you are — if you’re in front of me, I’m going to catch up to you.”
Both Ojo and Burkes believe becoming No. 1 is a possibility this season. Their goal is to focus on perfecting Ojo’s craft rather than chasing the number.
“We always talk about chasing execution, not time. Sometimes when you chase time, you get disappointed. Sometimes you get too high, you reach the time and you get comfortable,” Burkes said. “We just want to execute and run the best race that we can and see where that take us.”
Ojo said his chase of excellence not only drives him on the track but also pushes him in all aspects of his life.
“My whole goal coming to college was to be great in everything that I do. Even beyond track, anything that I do in my life is just ‘be great,’” Ojo said. “That mindset is what helps me to keep going.”
With the 2026 season in its early stages, both Ojo and Burkes have high hopes for what they will accomplish, with their eyes set on the top of the nation.