PORTLAND, Ore. - Idaho track and field wrapped up a successful 2026 Big Sky Outdoor Championship on Saturday, with the women's team claiming fourth place to match their highest finish since 2014, helped by Sydnie Zywina, who became the first Vandal to win the long and triple jump in the same year, and triple sprints medalist Ashley Hollenbeck Willems. 

"What a weekend for Idaho track and field!" UI's Director of Track and Field Tracy Hellman said after the close of competition Saturday. "I was super proud of all our athletes and our teams' performances! I was really excited to see improvement in our programs from last year to this year. We are still a new program [with our] coaches and athletes, and we will continue to improve. One thing that I felt was instrumental to our success was our depth across a variety of events - that is what track is all about! Highlighting today was certainly Sydnie - anytime you can win both triple and long jump, that is something that not many athletes can do! It was great to see our 4x4's finish out the meet with great performances! 2026 was a great stepping stone for our program, and I'm excited to see what the future of Vandal track and field holds!  As we always say in our program, it's a GREAT day to be a Vandal!!"

Zywina picked up exactly where she left off following her long jump title Friday, punching her ticket to the last nine finals with strong marks in two of her first three jumps. The grad student broke the 12m (39'4") barrier for the second time on attempt number five, soaring 12.41m (40'8.75") to put her name at the top of the standings, before extending her lead on her final jump, winning with a 12.47m (40'11") mark. 

In her final college meet, the Orofino native became the second woman in Big Sky history to do the long/triple double at the outdoor meet, adding to a silver she won in February's indoor triple jump during her lone season in Black and Gold. 

Hollenbeck Willems closed her college career with three all-conference performances, earning a pair of individual bronze medals in the 100 and 200 Saturday afternoon, after taking second as a member of the 4x100 relay team in the morning, alongside Alyssa Marsh, Jana Willems, and Rhyan Madden. Willems also qualified for the 100m final, finishing fourth, while Madden earned two huge points for Idaho in the 400, running a 55.99. 

The strong meet from Idaho's sprints squad continued on the men's side with Big Sky indoor 60m record holder Keenan Kuntz, who also won a medal in each of the two premier short-distance events, with a silver in a tight 100m dash, and a bronze in the 200. 

UI's throwers had a strong day in the field, with Gioele Tengattini taking second in the men's discus, resetting his personal best in the process to gain eight points for the Vandals. Tengattini also took fourth in the shot put, alongside Evan Hartt who finished eighth to give the UI men two scorers. The women's discus saw Lindi Kessinger wrap up her sophomore year with a personal collegiate record, posting a 45m (147'7") throw to claim fifth, while Tesse Kamps and Kathryn Burnette each finished in the top eight in the shot put to secure seven more points for the team. 

UI's women's team leaves the Rose City with four individual titles, their most at a single conference outdoor meet since 2014, which helped them to their highest finish since that same meet after a tight battle with Montana that came down to the 4x4, where the Vandals finished third. 

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The team will now wait for results from across the country to see who qualifies for the NCAA West First Round later this month.