PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field announced its nominees for the 13th annual Curtis Pugsley Athlete of the Year award, with winners to be honored at the banquet on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Hinckley Alumni Center.
These athletes were nominated based on their performances during the 2025 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. The Curtis Pugsley Award is BYU track and field’s highest recognition and is given every year to one male and one female athlete. The award is named in honor of former BYU track and field athlete (2000-04), Curtis Pugsley, who passed away in 2013 after his battle with cancer. During his time at BYU, Pugsley earned multiple All-America honors and won a conference championship in the decathlon.
Men’s nominees are James Corrigan, Danny Bryant and Ben Barton, with Lexy Halladay-Lowry, Riley Chamberlain, Sami Oblad and Meghan Hunter representing the women.
Men
Corrigan, Bryant and Barton each turned in exceptional performances during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons to earn their spots as finalists for BYU’s top individual track and field honor.
James Corrigan returned to BYU following his appearance in the 2024 Olympic Games and delivered one of the program’s most dominant seasons in recent history. The economics major was crowned the NCAA Division I national champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking a winning time of 8:16.41. He also secured Big 12 titles in both the steeplechase and the 5000m, with his 13:25.46 in the latter ranking No. 3 all-time at BYU. Corrigan, a returned missionary and father, continues to elevate the standard for BYU distance running.
Nominee Danny Bryant earned First Team All-America honors in the shot put after placing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a mark of 19.71m (64-8). Earlier in the season, he threw 20.02m (65-8.25) at the Husky Classic, a mark that ranks No. 3 all-time at BYU. The business major from Valencia, California also excelled indoors, recording a weight throw mark of 19.71m, placing him No. 8 all-time in program history. A returned missionary who served in New Zealand, Bryant’s consistency and power were key contributors for BYU in 2025.
Ben Barton had a breakout year in the multi-events, highlighted by a school-record 5,944 points in the heptathlon at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, where he finished second overall. He followed up with a Big 12 title in the decathlon, scoring 7,865 points, which ranks seventh all-time in BYU history. Barton also holds the No. 3 all-time mark in the 60m hurdles (7.82 seconds) and is a three-time All-American. The Michigan native and exercise science major recently married his wife Clara and continues to be one of the most versatile athletes in the program.
Women
Recent graduate Halladay-Lowry capped her senior season at BYU with several high-level accomplishments. The Meridian, Idaho native set four No. 1 all-time program records this year in the 30000m steeplechase, outdoor 5000m, indoor 5000m and indoor 3000m. At the NCAA outdoor championships, she ran a personal-best 9:08.68 in the steeplechase to finish second. Halladay-Lowry also won Big 12 titles in the indoor and outdoor 5000m and earned three First Team All-American honors this year, bringing her career total to six. Now competing professionally for Nike, she leaves BYU as one of its most decorated distance runners.
Nominee Chamberlain anchored the Distance Medley Relay team to back-to-back national titles and helped the squad break both the BYU and NCAA records at the Husky Classic with a time of 10:37.58. The Loomis, California native also won the Big 12 title in the indoor mile. She earned Second Team All-America honors in the indoor 3000m and outdoor 1500m and climbed to No. 2 all-time at BYU in the indoor 3000m after running 8:40.89 at the Husky Classic.
Oblad is the BYU record holder in the outdoor 400m, running 50.49 at the Robison Invitational. The recent graduate also holds the indoor 400m record, finishing in 51.70 at the Big 12 Championships for third place. She ran the 400 leg on the back-to-back national champion DMR team with teammate Chamberlain. Oblad earned two All-American honors this year, including First Team at the outdoor championships for her 400m performance and Second Team at the indoor championships with a 52.27 finish.
Hunter closed her final year as a Cougar with multiple records and titles. The Provo, Utah native set the No. 1 all-time BYU mark in the outdoor 800m, running 1:58.95 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which also set the E.B. Cushing Stadium record. She won the Big 12 title in the 800m and set the indoor program record with a 2:00.21 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Hunter also ran the 400m leg on the DMR team that broke the BYU and NCAA records. She finished her senior season with All-American honors in the outdoor 800m after earning First Team All-American in the indoor 800m earlier in the year.
The winner is determined by a scoring system based on accomplishments in the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons. Points are awarded for performance at indoor and outdoor championships, All-American recognition, school records set or broken and BYU top-10 placement. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony held on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Hinckley Alumni Center. BYUtv’s Jarom Jordan will be emceeing the event.