Boise State’s Steeplechase Triple Threat
Meet the next class of steeplers who are overcoming barriers by learning to be present, grateful, and to trust in the process.
Do you Remember these names?
- Robin Wemple (2003)
- Marisa VanderMalle (2013)
- Marisa Howard (2014 and 2015)
- Minttu Hukka (2016)
- Allie Ostrander (2017, 2018 and 2019)
All five represented Boise State at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships as competitors in the 3,000m Steeplechase.
Ostrander, the most-decorated student-athlete in Boise State history, won three-straight NCAA titles in the 3,000m and is the only Division I female student-athlete to win three-straight national titles in the event. She is also one of two student-athletes in school history to win multiple national championships. Inducted into the Boise State Hall of Fame last year, Ostrander was also the Mountain West's all sport Female Athlete of the Year, the only student-athlete, male or female, to win the award three times in league history.
Howard was a three-time Mountain West champion and four-time all-conference runner, a two-time All-American, and the 2014 NCAA runner up in the 3000m. Howard holds the fifth-fastest 5000-meter and second-fastest 3000m times in Boise State's history. She has competed professionally since graduating from Boise State. She earned a spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team by running a qualifying time of 9:07.14, the eighth-fastest time in the world. Howard has also competed in two Pan American Games, winning a silver medal in 2019. She has made all five U.S. championship steeplechase finals that she has competed in since graduation.
These women laid the foundation and left a legacy for Boise State as a top training ground for the steeplechase and expanded the appeal for others to follow, including three current student-athletes, who have become full-fledged members of the “sisterhood of the steeplechase.”
Broncos Triple Threat
Meet current Bronco student-athletes Hanna Ackermann, Emily Jobes, and Abby Kendrick. Last year, all three secured a spot on Boise State’s Top 5 Performance List in the 3,000m Steeplechase.
Hanna Ackermann
Ackermann is a junior majoring in biology and chemistry with a long-term goal of attending medical school. She calls Bichl, Germany home, which is located in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, offering access to the Bavarian alps and the Isar River, similar to the landscape of southern Idaho. Bichl is around 60 miles from Munich with a population of 2,500.
Ackermann started in athletics as a sprinter. She competed in 400-meters, 400-meter hurdles and even 60-meter hurdles.
When she was 16, she realized she was much better at longer runs and made the transition to fully focus on distance running. Her first steeple race happened shortly after the switch.
“It went surprisingly well, just really good,” said Ackermann. “I realized I had so much more fun than the shorter distances.”
Ackermann had always wanted to attend college in the U.S. to pursue her love of running.
“Running is so cool because you have an opportunity to meet new people and do cool things; I just wanted to take the next step, to take the risk and see how far running takes me,” said Ackermann. “Right now, I'm thinking semester by semester and don't try to think too much ahead.”
Confirmation that she was on the right flight path started the day she boarded her flight in Munich to fly 5,374 miles to Boise.
Ackermann was seated near a retired couple from Nebraska. Once it was discovered she was flying alone, the couple befriended her. Throughout the 10-hour flight they engaged in conversation and ate meals together.
“Once we landed in Denver, they waited on the other side of customs until I was cleared, it was very sweet. They helped me through the security checkpoint and even rode the train with me to my gate. They helped me so much,” said Ackermann. “It was my first time flying alone, my first time alone in the U.S. and they guided me through it and it was a very special connection. So, it was meant to be. We still send Christmas cards and texts to this day.”
Ackermann, who ranked 14th in the West region entering the 2025 NCAA West Regional, set a nearly five-second personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the meet.
Her time of 9:54.40 earned her third in her heat, sixth overall out of 47 competitors, and ranks as the third fastest in school history.
She became the first woman to qualify for nationals in the 3,000m steeplechase since Allie Ostrander in 2019, who went on to win the national title.
Emily Jobes
Jobes is originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and spent two years at the University of Pittsburgh before entering the transfer portal. Once in the portal, she was contacted by Boise State.
“I wasn't really considering schools out west until Boise State reached out,” said Jobes. “When I flew out for an official visit, I immediately fell in love with the foothills, access to miles of trails, and the program. It just felt like the best fit and a place that I could really thrive.”
Growing up, running was not her singular focus, she played soccer competitively for 10 years. Early in her collegiate career a coach referenced her athleticism and suggested she give the steeplechase a try.
“So that spring, we started implementing steeple drills,” said Jobes. “Steeplechase is one of those events you either love it or you hate it. I decided to commit. Since then, I never really looked back and fell in love with it.”
In her one and only competition in 2025, she earned a bronze medal in the women's 3,000m steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:05.66, becoming the fourth-fastest in the event in Boise State history.
During practice last spring, she fell while doing steeple barriers jumps into the sand and fractured her ankle. She would be sidelined and out of running for six months. She approached her recovery just like she would a race.
“Steeplechase teaches you perseverance and you just have to be where your feet are,” said Jobes. “It’s really just focusing on one barrier at a time and not getting too ahead of yourself, because it's a long race. There are barriers and you'll get over it one way or another."
She is now healthy and ready to compete.
Jobes is a fifth-year psychology major and plans to pursue her Master's in Sports following graduation. Her end goal is to coach collegiately.
Abby Kendrick
Kendrick was a competitive gymnast for eight years growing up in Missoula, Montana, and had a unique connection to Boise State.
One of her gymnastic coaches had attended Boise State and competed on the gymnastics team.
“She had such an impact on me and who I was growing up,” said Kendrick. “I remember she had a Boise State gymnastics poster in her office, and I knew that is where I wanted to go for gymnastics, that's my dream gymnastics school.”
Kendrick hails from a family of runners.
“Everyone in my family runs,” said Kendrick. “Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we'll have a family run, everyone goes out together.”
After taking a break from gymnastics, both her dad, an avid runner, and her aunt, who was the cross-country coach at her school, recommended she give running a try.
“I got hooked from the beginning,” said Kendrick. “I fell in love with it and I realized I might actually be good at this and I committed.”
Her junior year of high school, she qualified for Foot Locker Nationals. It was the first time college coaches started to reach out to her, including Boise State.
She turned down the first offer from Broncos because she still viewed it as her “dream gymnastics school” but after COVID and travel restrictions, she made the leap.
“I ended up committing here and have loved it ever since,” said Kendrick.
Kendrick’s path to the steeplechase was self-driven, inspired by her gymnastics background and natural flexibility. When she first shared her interest with the coaches, she didn’t hesitate, recalling, “I want to do that, I want to steeple,” to which they responded, “here’s a hurdle, jump.”
From that moment on, drawn in by the challenge and the simple feeling that “it looked really fun,” steeplechase became her passion.
Kendrick had her strongest steeplechase season to date in the 2024-25 season. She recorded a personal best of 10:02.65 at the 2025 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championship, earned a spot at the NCAA West Regional, and finished 26th overall.
Last spring, she graduated with a health science degree and a minor in psychology. She is now waiting for her placement in an accelerated nursing program.
Due to an injury, Kendrick will compete in one final season in 2026, after receiving a fifth year of eligibility.
New Coaching Staff
In June 2024, Pat McCurry was named head coach of Boise State track and field and cross country teams. McCurry, a former Bronco assistant from 2016-18, became the sixth combined head coach in program history.
McCurry is renowned for his work with middle-distance runners, a group he worked with in his tenure at Boise State.
"I am honored to take on the responsibility of serving our student-athletes in this role," said McCurry. "Boise State has a decorated history in track and field, and I am eager to carry that torch toward building a program that makes our alumni and Bronco Nation proud."
Kendrick and Ackermann had traveled to Costa Rica on holiday with a group of teammates when they received a Zoom invitation to meet the new coach.
“I remember we were sitting in our small rental (in Costa Rica), and we had the big announcement that Coach Pat is going to be our coach,” said Ackermann. “We were all so excited and honestly, I didn't know anything about him. I just had a good feeling, and everyone was happy about it.”
They started doing research and discovered McCurry coached several world-class athletes, all competitors in the 3,000m steeplechase, including Boise State alum Marisa Howard, Lizzie Bird and Alycia Butterworth. Bird is the current British record holder in the 3,000m and was a two-time Olympic finalist in that event (Tokyo and Paris). Under McCurry’s tutelage, Butterworth represented Canada in the 3,000m at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
Prior to her Olympic debut in Paris, Howard joined the Bronco coaching staff.
McCurry said the addition of Howard was an easy decision, noting that while her Olympic experience is exciting for the program, it was ultimately her character that stood out most. He added that he is especially eager for the impact she will have mentoring the women’s distance athletes, providing a daily example of how to stay healthy, balanced, and competitive at the highest level.
Kendrick recalls watching Howard compete at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials on TV and realizing the significance of Boise State’s new coaching staff, thinking, “I was just so excited, this is our new coach, this is his athlete, competing in my favorite event. This is real.”
Learning from a Pro
I remember when I first found out that she (Howard) was going to help coach and being able to go on a few runs with her. Just to have someone like that at practice and to work out with, her presence is remarkable. It is also eye-opening to learn why she's doing this sport, the gratitude she has for it, and also chasing these huge dreams, it makes it relatable, inspiring, and honestly absolutely amazing.Emily Jobes Boise State student-athlete
The culture change was evident.
“I think the biggest takeaway (under Howard's mentorship) is consistency and gratitude,” said Ackermann. “She doesn’t do anything crazy, she just believes in Coach Pat's training, and it works. Sometimes less is more and she's very trusting and stays positive. That gives us confidence.”
Howard also offers insight into what it takes to be a steepler.
“An elite steeplechaser is someone who can stay calm amongst the chaos,” said Howard. “They can keep their cool when there is a lot going on around them. Steeplechasers have to have a lot of body awareness and a good level of athleticism to navigate the barriers and water pits. Late in the race, they need to be gritty and determined to attack those last few laps as the fatigue settles in.”
She's (Howard) not afraid to talk about the ups and downs and how it's not just going to be linear or a straightforward path.Abby Kendrick, Boise State student-athlete
Impact
I have seen growth in their racing confidence over the last two years,” said Howard. “Running isn’t always a linear sport, sometimes we have to take one on the chin and get back out there, they have all had to do that at different points in the last two years and that will serve them well in this upcoming season.”
Their race times prove the point. During the 2024-25 season all three improved their personal records in the event.
3,000m Steeplechase - Personal Bests by Collegiate Year
2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
| Hanna Ackermann | 10:25.09 | 09:54.21 | |
| Emily Jobes | 10:43.16 | 10:05.66 | 10.03.05 |
| Abby Kendrick | 10:30.19 |
| 10:02.65 |
“All three of these athletes bring professionalism and an eagerness to learn with them to practice,” said Howard. “Abby and Emily have each navigated an injury in the last year and they have been diligent with all the small things so that they are ready to return this outdoor season.”
Approach to the Outdoor Season
McCurry emphasized that the group’s focus remains on steady growth, noting that their expectations center on continuing to develop both physically and mentally so it translates into performance, with the ultimate goal of scoring significant points at the Mountain West Championships and positioning all three athletes to contend for NCAA First Round spots in Eugene.
That long-term vision is balanced by a shared commitment to staying present, as Kendrick explained she’s learned to embrace each step of the journey, recognizing that while the team holds big end-of-season goals, “the only way you can try to savor it is by staying present in where you're at right now and not looking too far ahead,” adding she’s “incredibly grateful to be here this year and to have each day with my teammates.”
That sense of gratitude is echoed throughout the group, with Jobes reinforcing the importance of staying grounded in purpose and perspective, emphasizing being “rooted in the why, present in where you are,” which aligns with the team’s process-driven culture.
Just really believe in yourself. You can do things that you don't think are possible.Hanna Ackermann, Boise State student-athlete
What's Next
The Broncos enter the outdoor season on April 3-4 at three separate meets, UNLV Rebel ELITE in Las Vegas, Mike Fanelli Track Classic in San Francisco, California, and the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, California. Fans in the Treasure Valley can watch the team in person on April 24 at the Ed Jacoby Twilight.
- The steeplechase is a 3,000-meter obstacle race with four barriers, or hurdles, and a water pit. The steeplechase is the only event where runners will encounter barriers.
- The name of the event comes from its origins in Great Britain, where runners would race from one town’s steeple to the next.
- The modern steeplechase can be traced to Oxford University in the mid-19th century. The event was then added to the English Championships in 1879.
- The Olympics first incorporated steeplechase as a sport for men in 1920 and for women in 2008.
- A standard 3000m steeplechase track features 28 fixed barriers and seven water jumps.
- The Olympics steeplechase event is an obstacle course that spans 3,000 meters on a standard 400-meter outdoor track and includes seven water jumps and 28 fixed barriers.
- The height of the barriers in the men’s 3000m steeplechase is 36in (91.4cm) and in the women’s it’s 30in (76.2cm).
- The length of the water jump’s landing area is 12ft (3.66m) and has a depth of 50cm.
