Coaches
Artie Gulden
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
Artie Gulden, a former distance runner at Bucknell University, is the current director of Utah State's track & field/cross country programs.
Through his first nine years at Utah State, Gulden's distance/cross country runners have combined for 20 All-American accolades, nine individual conference titles, 67 all-conference honors, 1 Mountain West Team title, and 6 team appearances at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with the highest team finishes being 11th for the men in March 2021 and 14th for the women in 2017.
Gulden helped the Aggies make history in 2017 with their first ever team appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships when both the men and the women qualified for the first time ever in school history.
In addition, Gulden has coached the current school record holders in the men’s indoor mile, 3K, 5K, Distance Medley Relay, women’s indoor 3K and Distance Medley Relay, men’s outdoor 1500, 5K, 10K, and 3K steeplechase and the women’s outdoor 800, 1500, 3K, 5K, 10K, and 3K steeplechase.
Gulden is the son of legendary Bucknell cross country and track & field head coach Art Gulden, who coached the Bison for 31 years. Bucknell captured 68 conference titles under Art Gulden.
Gulden earned his bachelor’s degree from Bucknell in 2003. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in urban and historical geography from Wisconsin (2005), and a second master’s degree in business administration from BYU (2008).
The native of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, served a two-year LDS Church Mission to Utah, where he served three months on the campus of Utah State in 1999. He and his wife, Andrea, have one son, AJ (19), and two daughters, Allie (17) and Anna (14).
Matt Ingebritsen
Associate Head Coach/Throwers Coach
Matt Ingebritsen (pronounced Ing-a-brit-sin) is in his fifth season as the director of Utah State’s track & field and cross country programs. Ingebritsen, who also serves as the head track & field coach, is in his 19th season overall with the Aggies. He works specifically with USU’s throwers, who have combined for seven All-America honors, 23 conference titles and 109 all-conference accolades under his tutelage.
During the 2021-22 season, USU continued a strong run of success across indoor and outdoor track & field, in addition to cross country. In the 2021 cross country season, the Aggie women recorded one of their best seasons in program history, advancing to the NCAA Championships for only the second time in program history as the Aggies finished 28th. The men's cross country team narrowly missed their third-consecutive appearance at the national championships, placing eighth at the Mountain Region Championships.
The Aggie women tied for their best-ever finish at the Mountain West Indoor Championships as they took sixth place with 38.50 points. Meanwhile, the men finished third in the conference with 73 points. Junior Devin Pancake set the school record in the indoor mile at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Massachusetts, finishing with a time of 4:00.36. All told, the Aggies set seven marks during the indoor season ranking in the top three all-time in program history.
Utah State's success continued into the outdoor season as the Aggies sent 11 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Senior Mica Rivera posted the high water mark for USU as she placed 14th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:09.64, the second-best time in the event in school history. Seniors Mark Crandall and Connor Weaver recorded the best finishes on the men's side as the duo each placed 24th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meters, respectively.
The Aggies also excelled in the classroom as USU athletes received 110 academic all-MW honors across the cross country and track & field rosters. Additionally, 111 athletes were named MW Scholar-Athletes on the year.
While the 2020-21 campaign saw the cancelation of the indoor track & field season due to COVID-19 and a shortened cross country season that was moved from the fall to early 2021, the Aggies still enjoyed a wealth of success, both academically and athletically.
The men’s cross country team earned its best-ever finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships as the 21st-ranked Aggies scored 351 points to place 11th overall, surpassing their previous best championship finish of 16th in 2019. Utah State beat 15 ranked teams, including 10 that were ranked ahead of them.
Caleb Garnica crossed the finish line in 30 minutes, 31.2 seconds to place 28th in the men’s 10-kilometer race and earn All-American status (given to the top 40 finishers). On top of that, Camren Todd was the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2020 NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Championships. Todd is the first and only Utah State student-athlete to ever garner the Elite 90 award, which was established in 2009-10.
Prior to earning All-America honors, Garnica captured the men’s 8-kilometer race at the 2020 Mountain West Cross Country Championships. For his efforts, he was tabbed the MW Men’s Student-Athlete of the Year, to go along with earning first-team all-MW honors. Todd and Haydon Cooper also garnered first-team all-league honors, while Bridger Altice earned a second-team citation.
On the women’s side, Katie Haviland earned second-team all-MW accolades by placing eighth in the 6K race with a time of 20:22.1.
Ingebritsen coached Kyle Morris to the 2021 MW Outdoor Track & Field Championships javelin title, the only Aggie to garner a gold medal at the three-day event. Morris was one of 10 Aggies to qualify the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, including four throwers.
Eight Aggies from the men’s and women’s cross country teams were honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their performance both athletically and academically during the 2020-21 season. Both the men’s team (3.71) and women’s team (3.75) were recognized for notching a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 or higher. Individually, Haviland earned USTFCCCA accolades on the women’s side for maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and qualifying for the national championship meet. On the men’s side, seven Aggies were recognized for their excellence in the class room as Altice, Cooper, Mark Crandall, Garnica, Darren Harman, Spencer Nelson and Todd garnered all-academic accolades.
Additionally, eight members of the men's and women's track & field programs were honored by the USTFCCCA, as well as the men's team (3.59) and women's team (3.59). The four Aggies honored on the men's side included Kyle Brost and Christian Sonnenberg, Garnica and Todd. On the women's side, Audrey Garrett, Maia Garren, Haviland and Michala Zilkey were recognized.
During the 2020 campaign, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Josh Barclay won the shot put title with a mark of 18.11 meters (59-5.00) at the Mountain West Indoor Championships. Morris also garnered all-MW accolades as he placed second in the shot put with a heave of 17.32 meters (56-10.00).
The men’s cross country program had a banner year in 2019. Utah State captured its first-ever Mountain West title and made its second appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where the 19th-ranked Aggies scored 428 points to place 16th overall, surpassing their previous best championship finish of 27th in 2017.
The Aggies finished ahead of five teams that entered the race ranked above them (No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 11 Washington, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 18 Syracuse and No. 13 Middle Tennessee State).
Utah State earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after the team finished fourth and had five runners earn all-region honors at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships. In a loaded region, which included the top three teams in the nation, USU finished first among Mountain West teams with 106 points.
The Aggies’ fourth-place finish was their best ever at a regional meet, with their previous highest finish coming in 2017, when they finished seventh. Five runners earning all-region honors is the most ever by a USU team, as well.
Hosting the 2019 MW Cross Country Championships, the Aggie men did not disappoint on their home course as they captured their first-ever MW title, while the Aggie women placed fifth. The men won the team title with 42 points, led by Dallin Farnsworth, who became the first Aggie to ever win an MW Championship race. Farnsworth’s time of 21:14.2 broke the MW Championship record, surpassing the previous record by 20 seconds. Farnsworth, a native of Pocatello, Idaho, also earned MW Men’s Student-Athlete of the Year honors.
Three of the top six runners in the men’s 8-kilometer were Aggies as Beattie (23:23.8) and Withers (23:24.9) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Withers and Beattie, along with Farnsworth, earned first-team all-MW honors. Garnica was named to the all-MW second team after finishing 14th with a time of 23:40.7. Furthermore, Artie Gulden was named the MW Coach of the Year, the first Aggie coach to ever earn that honor.
Three Aggies were honored by the USTFCCCA for their performance both athletically and academically during the 2019-20 season. The two individuals honored on the men’s side included Barclay and Farnsworth, while Garrett was recognized on the women’s side.
The 2019 campaign was highlighted by Sindri Gudmundsson earning first-team All-American honors for the third-consecutive year in the javelin. He recorded a season-best throw of 73.92 meters (250-06) at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to place fourth.
Gudmundsson became Utah State’s first three-time first-team All-American in one event since former U.S. Olympian James Parker in 2001 (hammer). Gudmundsson, who placed sixth in 2017 and third in 2018 at the Outdoor Finals, was ranked 12th nationally heading into the NCAA Outdoor Finals.
Gudmundsson earned his spot in the finals by placing first at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships with a heave of 73.68 meters (241-8). Prior to that, he claimed his third-straight javelin title and the fourth-straight overall for the Aggies at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships.
Distance runner Cierra Simmons-Mecham placed 20th in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas. The native of Soda Springs, Idaho, crossed the finish line at Mike A. Myers Stadium in 10 minutes, 23.90 seconds, and earned honorable mention All-American honors by doing so.
A trio of Utah State student-athletes earned 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country honors, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). On the women’s side, Kashley Carter and Tylee Skinner were tabbed to the first and second teams, respectively, while Stokton Smith earned first-team accolades on the men’s side. Carter was also named an Academic All-American.
The 2018 season saw the Aggies tie Penn State for 18th place (15 points) in the men’s team standings at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Finals. It marked the sixth time in program history that Utah State finished in the top-20 at a national meet. It also proved to be USU’s best team showing since it also tied for 18th in 2001.
Simmons-Mecham scored one point for Utah State’s women’s team at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Finals by placing eighth and earning first-team All-American honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a school-record time of 9 minutes, 49.33 seconds. It was the first time a student-athlete scored team points at a meet of this magnitude for the USU women since Jennifer Twitchell placed fifth in the mile during the 2007 indoor campaign.
After a school-record 22 Aggies qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships during the 2018 campaign, six advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Finals, where Spencer Fehlberg (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Clay Lambourne (800 meters) both earned second-team All-American honors, while Brenn Flint (shot put) was an honorable mention All-American.
Gudmundsson was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week after breaking his own school record in the javelin with his first throw of the season (80.49 meters/264-1) at that meet. He was also tabbed the Mountain Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
The quartet of Lambourne, Maggard, Jordan Beutler and Brady Martin garnered first-team All-American honors by placing fifth in the DMR with a school-record time of 9 minutes, 32.31 seconds at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. Maggard also earned first-team All-American honors by placing fifth in the 3,000 meters, while Lambourne captured second-team All-American honors in the 800 meters.
Overall, the men’s team ended the NCAA Indoor Finals with eight points to place 29th, the best team finish since 1977, when Utah State took 21st.
While at Utah State, Ingebritsen has coached 13 individual conference champions, who have combined for 22 championships.
On the women’s side in 2019, Ingebritsen coached Brenn Flint to a pair of shot put titles at the Mountain West Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She then went on to earn honorable mention All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Finals, recording a throw of 13.72 meters (45-0.25).
Flint became the first female thrower under Ingebritsen to garner a pair of All-American honors, also earning honorable mention accolades in 2017. Maci Bingham earned second-team accolades in the hammer after placing 15th with a throw of 60.44 meters (198-3) at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Finals, while Krista Larson remains the only female to earn first-team honors under Ingebritsen, doing so in 2009 in the hammer as she placed ninth with a throw of 58.21 meters (194-03).
Under Ingebritsen’s guidance, Wright earned the Mountain West’s highest honor, as he was named the 2017 MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Aggie to win the prestigious award. The accolade is bestowed upon one male and one female in the conference that best exemplify the term “student-athlete” by achieving excellence in academics, athletics and community involvement. Wright was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team and was one of nine USU track & field athletes to earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
Overall, eight of the 12 possible throwing school records are held by athletes coached by Ingebritsen.
Ingebritsen, who competed for five years at Boise State in the discus, shot put, weight and hammer throws, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science in 2003. In 2006, he received a master’s of education degree in health, physical education and recreation from Utah State.
He is married to Abbey Ingebritsen, who was also a thrower at Boise State and earned a pair of first-team All-American honors. The couple resides in Providence.
Sarah Nardoni
Associate Head Coach
Sarah Griggs-Nardoni is in her second year as the associate head cross country coach at Utah State University. This is Nardoni’s ninth year overall at USU.
Through her first nine years at Utah State, Nardoni has helped coach the distance/cross country runners to a combined 20 All-American accolades, nine individual conference titles, 67 all-conference honors, 1 Mountain West Team title, and 6 team appearances at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with the highest team finishes being 11th for the men in March 2021 and 14th for the women in 2017.
Nardoni helped the Aggies make history in 2017 with their first ever team appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships when both the men and the women qualified for the first time ever in school history.
In addition, Nardoni has assisted in coaching the current school record holders in the men’s indoor mile, 3K, 5K, Distance Medley Relay, women’s indoor 3K and Distance Medley Relay, men’s outdoor 1500, 5K, 10K, and 3K steeplechase and the women’s outdoor 800, 1500, 3K, 5K, 10K, and 3K steeplechase.
Nardoni earned her bachelor’s degree in science, exercise and wellness from BYU in 2014, and she graduated with a master’s in social work from Utah State in 2016.
The native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a member of the track & field, cross country and basketball teams at Thomas B. Doherty High School, where she earned a combined seven letters. She was a team captain for both her basketball and track & field teams.
The former Sarah Griggs, who is the youngest of six children, served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nicaragua from 2011-13. She married Clint Nardoni in July of 2021 and they are currently expecting their first child.
Erik Rasmussen
Multi-Events/Jumps Coach
Erik Rasmussen is in his seventh year as the jumps and combined-events coach at Utah State. He has a Level III USATF and a Level V IAAF coaching certification in the jumps.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Caden Dupee led the way at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, earning all-conference honors as he placed third in the heptathlon with 5,192 points. At the MW Outdoor Championships, Kelton Chenworth earned all-conference honors by placing second in the high jump with a mark of 2.06 meters (6-9).
Academically, both Dupee and Chenworth earned academic all-Mountain West honors.
Additionally, the Aggies recorded nine marks in the top 10 all-time at USU in event coached by Rasmussen, including Maren Garnett moving to fourth all-time in both the indoor and outdoor pole vaults.
While the 2020-21 campaign saw the cancelation of the indoor track & field season due to COVID-19, the Aggies still enjoyed a wealth of success, both academically and athletically.
Under Rasmussen’s tutelage, Audrey Garrett highlighted Utah State’s performance on the women’s side at the MW Outdoor Championships as she earned first-team all-league honors after placing second in the high jump with a career-best mark of 1.80 meters (5-10.75), which ranks second all-time in school history. Garrett also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships.
Joining Garrett at the NCAA West Prelims was Kyle Brost in the triple jump. At the MW Outdoor Championships, he garnered his fifth all-MW citation – all in the triple jump – after placing third in the event with a mark of 14.69 meters (48-2.50).
Brost broke his own school record in the outdoor triple jump when he placed third with a mark of 15.63 meters (51-3.50) at the season-opening UNLV Spring Invitational & Sheila Tarr-Smith Multis.
Academically, Garrett garnered academic all-MW and MW Scholar-Athlete accolades, and earned the USU Joe E. Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award.
During the 2020 campaign, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rasmussen coached a trio of athletes who garnered first-team all-Mountain West honors, including two that qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships.
Chandler Obray earned all-conference high jump honors for the second-straight season as he won the event with a leap of J2.06 meters (6-9.00) at the Indoor Championships. Hunter Simonsen also garnered all-MW honors as he placed third in the high jump with a mark of J2.06 meters (6-9.00). In the men’s triple jump, Kyle Brost finished third to earn all-MW honors after breaking his own school record with a jump of 15.22 meters (49-11.25).
Twice during the season, Simonsen earned a pair of MW Field Athlete of the Week honors. The first one came following his performance at the Boise State-hosted Jackson’s/Nike Boise Indoor Invitational, where he placed first in the high jump with a mark of 2.06 meters (6-9.00). He was named the MW Field Athlete of the Week the following weekend, as well, as he had a season-high mark of 2.08 meters (6-9.75) in the high jump to place seventh – the best finish by an athlete from the conference – at the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
On the women’s side, Rasmussen coached Audrey Garrett, who placed fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.75 meters (5-8.75) at the MW Indoor Championships. She captured first place in the high jump with a mark of 1.75 meters at the North Dakota State-hosted Bison Team Cup and recorded a career-best leap of 1.76 meters (5-9.25), which ranks fifth all-time in school history, at the BYU Indoor Invitational, where she placed second.
In 2019, Rasmussen coached a trio of athletes who captured Mountain West titles. Simonsen won the indoor high jump title with a height of 2.18 meters (7-1.75), while Leaugen Fray was the outdoor champ in the event with a mark of 2.12 meters (6-11.5). Brost placed first in the outdoor triple jump with a school-record mark of 15.47 meters (50-9.25).
Garnering first-team all-MW honors during the 2019 indoor season included Talie Bonds (third, pentathlon, 3,762 points) on the women’s side. Simonsen, Obray (second, high jump, 2.14 meters/7-0.25), Fray (third, high jump, 2.10 meters/6-10.75; third, long jump, 7.19 meters/23-7.25), Nelson (third, pole vault, 5.10 meters/16-8.75), Brost (third, triple jump, 14.81 meters/48-7.25) and Roman Ruiz (third, heptathlon, 5,078 points) were honored on the men’s side.
Brost also set the then-school record in the indoor triple jump with a leap of 15.07 meters (49-5.50) at the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Invitational. Following that feat, he was named the MW Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week. Brost garnered MW Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors one time during the 2019 outdoor campaign, as well.
For the outdoor season, Garrett earned first-team all-MW honors on the women’s side as she placed third in the high jump with a mark of 1.71 meters (5-7.25). The men were represented by Fray, Brost and Simonsen (second, high jump, 2.06 meters/6-9).
Brost (triple jump), Fray (high jump), Obray (high jump), Simonsen (high jump) and Jennifer Christensen (high jump) all participated in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships. Christensen and Brost both placed 16th in their respective events, just four places away from advancing to the NCAA Finals held in Austin, Texas.
During the 2018 season, Rasmussen coached a pair of athletes who combined to win four Mountain West titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Fray earned a pair of first-team all-Mountain West honors by winning both the long jump (7.38 meters/24-2.50) and high jump (2.18 meters/7-1.50) titles at the Indoor Championships.
Not to be outdone, Sam Nelson won both an indoor and outdoor Mountain West title in the pole vault. He captured the indoor crown with a season-best mark of 5.15 meters (16-10.75). He then went on to win the outdoor title with a mark of 5.00 meters (16-4.75).
Fray and Nelson both participated in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, where Nelson tied for 17th in the first round of the pole vault (5.00 meters/16-4.75) and Fray tied for 25th in the high jump with a career-best-tying 2.11 meters (6-11).
Utah State’s jumpers and combined-event athletes set 11 top-10 marks under Rasmussen’s tutelage in 2018.
In his first year at Utah State, Rasmussen coached Fray to an indoor Mountain West title in the long jump (7.52 meters/24-8.25) and a second-place finish in the high jump (2.12 meters/6-11.50). Under his direction, the Aggie jumpers and combined-event athletes set eight top-10 marks in 2017.
Rasmussen arrived at Utah State after four successful years at Eastern Washington, where he coached the jumpers and combined-event athletes to seven school records, 42 top-10 performances, nine individual conference championships, 24 all-conference finishers, and eight qualifiers to the NCAA Preliminary Championships.
Rasmussen was the pole vault coach at BYU from 2008-2012. During his time there, he coached seven All-Americans to 15 appearances at the NCAA National Championship Finals, and 12 pole vaulters to the NCAA Preliminary Championships. At the NCAA Finals, Rasmussen coached two third-place finishers (Bobby Low and Chris Little), and Victor Weirich, who notched fourth-, fifth-and 10th-place finishes.
From 1998-2003, Rasmussen competed for BYU and finished with a personal best of 17-feet, 4.75 inches in the pole vault. His other personal bests include 6,319 points in the decathlon, 5,244 points in the indoor heptathlon, and 23-2.5 in the long jump.
Rasmussen grew up in Modesto, Calif., where he excelled in the pole vault, jumping 17-feet as a senior. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Rome, Italy. He graduated from BYU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Rasmussen’s wife, Nicole, also competed for the BYU track team. They have three children, Tate (10), Bo (7) and Guy (3).