What’s already been a special track & field season for Cierra Simmons continues to get better.

The Utah State junior shattered her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and easily advanced to Saturday’s final in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The native of Soda Springs, Idaho, completed the race in 9 minutes, 50.35 seconds and finished second out of 12 athletes in the first of two heats. Simmons ended up with the fourth-fastest time in the semifinals of the event.

“(Cierra Simmons) just ran a fantastic race,” USU assistant coach Sarah Griggs said. “She executed perfectly, and I think she really trusted and believed in herself. It was her goal to go to the final and she really believed that she could do it, and she did. She really built off of last year’s disappointment of not making it here, and I think she’s just had a fire to come here and compete really well and not just make it here, but really compete and do something big.”

Simmons shaved more than six seconds off her previous lifetime best performance in the 3,000 steeplechase and now has a whopping 28-second advantage over any other steeplechaser in program history on the women’s side.

“That is huge, especially because it started out so chill,” Simmons said of lowering her school record at a meet of this magnitude. “I thought it was going to be very nonchalant, just see who could get through, but then we kept building and we kept building, and it became a, ‘Who’s willing to stick it out?’

Then, I saw (Grayson) Murphy cross the line in, I think, 9:48 something, and I said, ‘If I can go sub-9:50, USAs (nationals) is on the horizon.’ We didn’t quite make that, but to see (a) 9:50, I know I can do that, so when you actually come through and finish that way, it’s so gratifying.”

The Mountain West champion was in seventh place after the second and third laps but passed at least one person in each of the next three laps. It was a back-and-forth battle between Simmons and Syracuse’s Paige Stoner and Colorado’s Val Constien for the runner-up spot in the final lap of the opening heat, and the Aggie junior finished strong.

“It was to be patient and see what everybody else was going to do, and then hang on and not do anything crazy until the end,” said Simmons, who ran the second-fastest final lap in her heat. “I was ready to do whatever. I thought it would go out crazy fast, but when we had a more-controlled first mile, I felt very confident in knowing that I would have something to give in the end.”

Utah senior Grayson Murphy won the heat with a time of 9:48.57. The other two athletes who finished with better times than Simmons were Mountain West rivals Allie Ostrander of Boise State and Charlotte Prouse of New Mexico. Simmons outsprinted Prouse for the MW title, while Prouse got revenge two weeks later.

The top five placers from each heat, plus those with the next two fastest times, advanced to Saturday’s final. Simmons, who qualified with more than seven seconds to spare, will be a first-time All-American if she finishes in the top eight. All 12 of the qualifiers broke the 10-minute barrier for the first time in the history of this meet.

Simmons was one of two Aggies who competed Friday. The other was fellow junior Brenn Flint, who wasn’t able to overcome a high ankle sprain she suffered two weeks ago at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships and placed 23rd in the shot put with a mark of 45 feet, 0.25 inches.

The Syracuse native, who wore a walking boot all of last week, has been consistently throwing 53 to 55 feet this spring. Flint is now a two-time honorable mention All-American in the event.

“It was a tough competition, and I’m glad I could be here to compete with all these girls,” said Flint, the 2018 Mountain West indoor and outside champion in the shot put. “Next year, we’re going to come back so much stronger.”

It was still a banner season for Flint, who broke USU’s indoor and outdoor records in the shot put and narrowly missed claiming the record in the discus. The junior likely would have finished in the top 15 Thursday had she been healthy.

“This year, qualifying for nationals came at a big price,” USU head coach Matt Ingebritsen said. “Brenn got hurt on her second throw of the (West Prelims) competition, and we haven’t really been able to throw for two weeks. And in shot put, which is such a timing event, when you don’t actually get to throw with the implement, it makes it really hard to come back and try to compete at a high level.

“I knew she was going to be ready to throw far, but I knew it was going to be a big fight. I think her first throw was a little bit painful, and we just weren’t able to put it together, but overall she had an amazing season and accomplished just about everything we set out to do this year.”

A pair of former Sky View stars earned honorable-mention All-America honors for BYU on Thursday in Brenna Porter and Lauren Rawlinson. Fellow former Bobcat and current Cougar freshman Conner Mantz is now an honorable mention All-American after placing 22nd in Wednesday’s 10,000.

Porter posted the 18th-best time in the semifinals of the 400 hurdles. The junior clocked in at 58.99, but needed a 57.77 to advance to Saturday’s finals.

Rawlinson and Porter ran legs on BYU’s 4x400 relay team that finished 20th with a time of 3:39.14. The Cougars were seeded 24th, so it was a solid performance.

USU eight-time All-American Dillon Maggard will compete in the 5,000 on Friday night. The senior was the bronze medalist in Wednesday’s 10,000.