IRVING, Texas – Tayvon Kitchen earned the Big 12 Outstanding Freshman of the Year award and Carter Cutting became the Big 12 Outdoor Scholar-athlete of the Year, the conference announced Thursday afternoon.
Kitchen was selected as the 2026 Outstanding Freshman of the Year after setting the BYU school record in the 5000-meter posting a 13:16.27 at the Bryan Clay Invitation in his first collegiate season. The Central Point, Oregon product also holds the BYU school record in the indoor 3000-meter and the No. 2 all-time BYU record in the indoor 5000m. Kitchen finished as an All-American in his first season of Cross Country in the fall after taking 32nd at the NCAA Cross Country National Championship.
The true freshman adds the award to a resume that also includes his name on a list of seven athletes to ever record a sub four minute mile in the state of Utah. Kitchen qualified for the NCAA Outdoor West Regionals in the 5000-meter with the fifth ranked time among athletes in the west region which is also the fifth fastest time in the NCAA nationally as well since all five of the top national times reside in the west region.
Cutting earned the honors of the 2026 outdoor Scholar-athlete of the year after recording a 3.90 GPA while simultaneously crowning himself the Big 12 1500-meter outdoor champion posting a 3:58.63 win that featured a final 200-meters where the junior overtook nearly the entire field of competition. The Wilsonville, Oregon product is the reigning NCAA indoor national champion in the mile after winning the title in March of 2026.