Why qualifying for NCAA Championships from Fayetteville was extra special for Utah steeplechaser

SALT LAKE CITY — Mackenzie Rogers' heart sank as she crossed the line, even if just for a moment.

The University of Utah senior was pulling toward an automatic qualifier in the second heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West first round in Fayetteville, Arkansas. All she had to do was hold on to a top-three finish in the second heat, which she was doing until the final 600 meters.

That's when Rogers saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. One of her competitors who had fallen back early in the race was surging down the stretch and Rogers tried to keep up.

It wasn't enough, as the native of Poway, California, finished fourth in the heat in 10 minutes, 8.03 seconds. She'd have to wait until the final runner had crossed the line to see if her time would book a spot in the June 11-13 championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

"I didn't know if this is going to be enough," she recalled. "I literally left everything out there."

After cooling off, Rogers joined her dad and sister in the grandstand. One by one, they counted off each runner in the remaining race, stacking up her time. When the heat winner broke the tape, the stadium Jumbotron would freeze with the winning time — so Rogers pulled up the full results on her phone, and manically refreshed them over and over.

Finally, she got good news: a little "q" next to her name after the final result was in.

"I turned to my sister and we were just crying. I turned to my dad, and he was holding me," Rogers told KSL.com. "It was a pretty surreal moment."

That Rogers was qualifying for for the outdoor track and field national championships was a significant feat. She was one of two Utes to qualify for Eugene, along with teammate Chelsea Amoah, a sophomore from West Jordan, in the 200-meter dash.

Rogers is the first Utah steeplechase athlete to compete at the NCAA outdoor championships since two-time All-American Grayson Murphy in 2017-18. Amoah is Utah's first 200-meter sprinter to compete in Eugene after she was part of the school's historic 4x100-meter relay squad a year ago.

But Rogers' road to Hayward was unique, in that it took her backward to propel her forward.

The cross country runner and former basketball player originally signed with Arkansas, where she competed for the Razorbacks in cross country and track and field for three seasons. It was a homecoming of sorts for the San Diego County native, after her father Orville played football for the Hogs and a number of siblings and cousins competed at nearby Arkansas State and Central Arkansas.

Rogers loved her teammates and the Razorbacks' track and field program, too; as she was screaming and crying with her family in the grandstand, her former director of operations came up behind her with a warm embrace.

But between "athletics, school and life," she felt the west coast calling her back closer to home.

"I was really missing the vibe of the west, and Utah has the grad program I was looking for," said Rogers, who graduated this past spring with a degree in psychology and plans to start a master's program in business analytics in the fall. "A big part of the transfer was making sure my credits would transfer, and I was lucky to graduate with my undergrad this past spring.

"I wasn't completely fulfilled with life in Fayetteville," she added. "I'm just a lot happier now at Utah."

The Utes are happy she made the move. Rogers gives Utah multiple qualifiers for the NCAA championships for the fifth straight year, along with Amoah.

For Amoah, the former six-time state champion sprinter at Bingham High, qualifying for nationals is the culmination of a fast start to her collegiate career where she's set schools records in the 200-meter indoor (23.56) and 4x100-meter outdoor relay (43.85) with second-place all-time finishes in the 100-meter outdoor (11.64) and 200-meter outdoor (23.29).

Motivated by faith and family, accomplishing her career close to home is big for Amoah.

"I'm very big on my faith ... I have my bigger reasons," she said. "I'm not only doing this for myself, but who I am representing, who is supporting me; I know if I do this with God, I can accomplish so many things.

"Knowing that, I've been able to do all the things and find success in school and everything that comes after it. It helps me strive for more every time."

Anchored by her faith, Amoah prays before every race, often times in the check-in area before she enters the track. She also prays with her family every night, either in person or by phone, and repeats words of affirmation in the mirror in the morning.

"I have high expectations for myself," she said. "That also keeps me striving for more. I just want to know how I can continue to grow and get better every day, to be the best version of myself."

She'll take those expectations into her first individual national championship this week.

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