FULL RESULTS (INCLUDING LIVE RESULTS)

MOSCOW, Idaho - On the biggest stage in collegiate track and field, Idaho's own Katja Pattis proved why she belonged. 

Halfway through the second day of the competition in Eugene, OR, Pattis got her opportunity to compete in the 3,000m Steeplechase, which she had steadily improved at all season long. 

Multiple personal bests, improving upon her standing of second all-time in school history, and all-conference honors with a second-place finish at the Big Sky Championships in Sacramento. 

Her then-PR of 10:03.05, topping her old best of 10:04.33, now stands as the third-best time in her career, as Pattis only continued to set new highs. Earning a bid to the NCAA West Regionals in College Station alongside Mia Sylvester and Constanze Paoli, she would finish in the top-12, raising her own bar clocked at 10:02.04. 

With this, she became the first Idaho athlete to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships since 2022, and the first female Vandal to do so since 2016. 

On Thursday, the best DI runners in the country gathered for the steeplechase, representing institutions such as Alabama, Washington, Texas A&M, and Idaho. Among them, Pattis ran in the 3,000m Steeplechase one last time to conclude her career as a Vandal, and she finished it the way she started it: surpassing expectations. 

Katja set her fourth personal-best time in as many opportunities, finished under ten-minutes for the first time in her career at 9:57.34. Originally holding the no. 31 time in the NCAA, Pattis rose all the way to finish 18th on Thursday, nearly twice as well as she was initially ranked. Her sub-10 minute time is only the second ever in school history, and the first since 2003. 

Finishing her Vandal career as strongly as she could, Katja left a historic mark on the program, and her head coach Tracy Hellman was beyond proud of his runner. 

"What a tremendous finish to an outstanding career for Katja," remarked Hellman. "She not only finished with a lifetime PR but also finished better than she was ranked!" She showed that she is one of the top steeplechase athletes in the NCAA. She will leave Idaho as one of our all-time greats and our program is better because of her."

The program had an outdoor season to be proud of, capped off by Pattis' run in Eugene but bolstered by the efforts of numerous athletes in multiple events. With eight all-conference Vandals, multiple marks rewritten in the record books, and an All-American performance in Tracktown, Idaho Track and Field has a lot to look forward to. Hellman captured it best when he said:

"As always, it's a great day to be a Vandal."

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