Utah State hosts the 2026 Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational

On the sunny morning of Oct. 9, Utah State University Cross Country hosted the 10th annual Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational. The meet was held at the Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course in Logan and consisted of four cross-country teams from Utah State University, Snow College, the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado Northwestern Community College.  

The invitational was first held in 2016, according to last year’s comprehensive report. The meet is held to honor the legacy of former USU distance coach Steve T. Reeder. 

Scott Waldram has been a longtime cross-country officiator in both Utah and Idaho. According to Waldram, he has been a track official for 40-45 years, taking only a three-year break to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Africa.  

Waldram has officiated events for the NCAA and the Olympics. Waldram was responsible for firing the initiating shot for both races on Friday.  

“It’s a very individual sport,” said Waldram. “That’s what I like about it. It’s really fun to have these kids lift themselves up and be better today than they were yesterday.” 

The men’s 7k began at 11 a.m. with the shot by Waldram. The men’s team stayed close together throughout the race. Because of this, the first four to cross the finish line were all Utah State athletes, and the top time of 21.21.1 went to USU freshman Stockton Stevens. This was a personal best for Stevens. 

“For me personally, I think I felt a lot better today,” Stevens said. However, Stevens says he was most proud of how his team “stuck together” during the invitational. 

Stevens noted the home advantage for the event and the familiarity that came from practicing certain hills and tight turns prior to the meet. 

“Little things like that — they may not seem super significant — actually played out to be very significant in today’s race,” Stevens said.  

At 11:45 a.m., the women’s 5k commenced, and this time, the plan was to allow graduate student Sarah Ellis to take the lead, according to director of track & field and cross country Artie Gulden. Ellis did just that and finished first with a final time of 18:09.5. 

As Ellis held the lead, she said she simply tried to have fun and remember what her coaches had told her and envision the lead cart as a person she was “trying to chase after.” 

“I feel like I always race better when I’m doing it for fun,” Ellis said.  

On the day of the race, temperatures reached the mid-70s. At the finish line, many participants collapsed to their hands and knees, becoming sick after completing the race. One racer from Snow College had to be carried off the track due to immediately fainting once reaching the finish line.  

Ellis noted how she was nervous that the heat would affect her performance but was grateful for their uniforms, which kept her cool throughout the race.  

This meet was both Stevens’ and Ellis’ first time competing for the season. 

“It was great to have Sarah and Logan back in the mix for the first time this season,” Gulden said.  

Their performance as a team led them to win the invitational overall, with both team and individual titles. 

“I think today, for both teams, was a matter of going out and executing what we had talked about,” Gulden said. “If they were able to do that, then we were going to be fine and we were going to win the race.” 

This was USU’s second win of the season. At the Bengal Invitational hosted by Idaho State University on Oct. 2, the men’s team came in first with a perfect 15 points and the women’s team came in second. Gulden hopes to repeat these successes at their next meet in Indiana for the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 16. 

“What both teams are looking to do is to qualify for the NCAA Championships,” Gulden said.  

Gulden hopes to push his team on Oct. 16 and secure the “first puzzle piece” in making their goal for nationals possible.