2024 Paris Olympics: Tracking Team Idaho's qualifiers, hopefuls (2024)

The greatest athletes in the world are set to gather once again this summer for the 2024 Paris Olympics. KTVB is tracking 20 members of Team Idaho competing for a spot in one of 329 medal events.

A number of the Olympic hopefuls weren't born in the Gem State, with athletes from Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire, Washington and a trio of international competitors. However, each of them has competed or trained in the great 208, including at Boise State University.

Boise, Caldwell, Meridian, Kimberly, Sun Valley and Rexburg have all recently produced world-class athletes on the cusp of representing the red, white and blue. The mark left on Idaho's high school record books was just the start of their success.

Nine members of Team Idaho are heading to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field. Events are scheduled for June 21 through June 30. KTVB Channel 7 will be in Eugene to provide coverage of each athlete's quest to join Team USA.

The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to Aug. 11. As the Opening Ceremony grows closer, KTVB will update this article when Team Idaho's hopefuls do or do not qualify for the 2024 Olympics.

Qualifiers Ticket Punched

4 athletes with Idaho ties have already qualified, including Caldwell's Alyssa Mendoza and Boise's Matteo Jorgenson. A pair of cyclists coached by three-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong are also set to ride for the United States.

Alyssa Mendoza

Women's boxing (57 kg / 125 pounds)

Caldwell, Idaho

The 20-year-old became the first Idahoan to officially punch a ticket to Paris with an impressive run at the second 2024 Olympic Games World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mendoza won all four of her bouts by unanimous decision, including the finale over Maud Van Der Toorn from the Netherlands on June 2. With the fourth-straight win, the Caldwell native became the eighth and final athlete to make the U.S. Olympic boxing team.

Team USA's roster for the Paris Olympics is comprised entirely of rookies for the second-straight time. Mendoza claimed her first win in Thailand over Bolortuul Tumurkhuyag out of Mongolia on May 24. The featherweight phenom then captured three more unanimous decision victories to make history.

"To be representing Team USA at 57 kg is a huge accomplishment," Mendoza said. "I always have been watching whenever USA goes international, and I’ve always thought like, 'man, I can’t wait until I can do that', and now I am, and I’m super excited about it."

Matteo Jorgenson

Men's road cycling

Boise, Idaho | Boise High School graduate

Team Visma-Lease a Bike (Present) | Team Movistar (2020-2023)

Jorgenson fostered his love for cycling in the Boise Foothills. He's fought his way on to a number of international podiums over the past four years. As a result, the 24-year-old will get to parade his talents through Paris this summer during the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Boise native became only the third American to ever win the Paris-Nice race in March, joining Bobby Julich (2005) and Floyd Landis (2006) in the prestigious event's history. Jorgenson's 2023 performance included two top-five finishes in stages of the Tour de France.

He also claimed an overall victory in the Tour of Oman, fourth place in the E3 Saxo Classic and ninth place in the Tour of Flanders last year. Jorgenson's contract with Team Visma-Lease a Bike continues into 2026.

Haley Batten

Women's mountain biking

Coached by Kristin Armstrong | Park City, Utah

Specialized Factory Racing

Batten is coached by three-time Olympic gold medalist and Boise native Kristin Armstrong. USA Cycling on Tuesday, June 11 announced Batten is in the four-person lineup for the mountain biking events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she will compete in women's cross country again.

The 25-year-old swept the short track and cross-country events at the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Brazil and finished third in Mairiporã in the opening round. Batten finished ninth in the 2020 Olympics with a time of 1:20:13.

Batten won bronze at the 2022 World Championships after her Olympic debut in Tokyo and has been even more impressive as of late. The Utah native secured a pair of gold medals with five podium finishes at the 2024 Pan American Mountain Bike Championships.

“My Olympic pursuit has been an amazing journey. Through injury, personal growth, and relentless hard work, I am proud to earn my spot to represent Team USA in Paris," Batten told USA Cycling. "Throughout my youth, I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete and to earn a medal for the USA. I am honored to have this opportunity and I am fully focused on preparing at my best.”

Chloé Dygert

Women's road cycling

Coached by Kristin Armstrong | Brownsburg, Indiana

Canyon // SRAM Racing

The two-time Olympian, who is also coached by Idaho's very own Kristin Armstrong, is set to compete in the women's time trial, team pursuit and road race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Dygert is a two-time Olympic medalist, with silver and bronze medals under her belt.

After a crash at the 2020 UCI Road World Championships, Dygert made her return to the championships in 2023, where she claimed her 11th world title. The Indiana native provisionally qualified for the 2024 Olympic team by winning the 22-mile road time trial. Dygert finished the course in just under 47 minutes as the 19th starter in the field of 86 riders.

Dygert not only claimed an Olympic medal in the team pursuit on the track in Tokyo, but also finished seventh on the road in the individual time trial.

Hopefuls Path to Paris

9 of Team Idaho's 14 Olympic hopefuls are heading to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for theU.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, which get underway on June 21.

Peyton Bair

Men's decathlon

Kimberly, Idaho | Kimberly High School graduate

Mississippi State University

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

The Bulldog sophom*ore finished second nationally in the men's decathlon at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, June 6. Bair broke the Mississippi State record set in 2004 with a personal-best 8,131 points and earned first team All-American honors.

Bair won 10 total state championships at Kimberly and was named the 2020 Gatorade Idaho Boys Track and Field Player of the Year. He qualified for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Texas as a true freshman, picking up All-American honors after finishing 11th in the decathlon with 7,653 points.

Nathan Green

Men's 1,500m

Boise, Idaho | Borah High School graduate

University of Washington

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

The reigning national champion ran the 1,500-meter in a career-best 3:34.79 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, posting the fourth-fastest time in the event in NCAA history. Green finished 10th at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 7, just 1.5 seconds behind the winning time.

Green won the U.S. U20 Championship after finishing seventh with a time of 3:37.46 in the 1,500-meter final as a freshman at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, picking up first team All-American honors.

The former Borah standout was a nine-time state champion in high school. Green went undefeated in all individual track events in 2021 and was rated the nation's No. 1 recruit by MileSplit.com. He was named the Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year on five occasions, three times in cross country and twice in track and field.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry

Women's 3,000m steeplechase

Meridian, Idaho | Mountain View High School graduate

Brigham Young University

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

The BYU senior elected to redshirt this year, allowing her to tailor her training towards peaking in July and August, rather than May and June – the peak of competition at the NCAA level.

Halladay-Lowry was three under the U.S. Olympic Trials standard in April, running a personal-best 9:26.55 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to claim the overall victory at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

One month prior, the Mountain View grad posted the No. 2 all-time performance in BYU history in the indoor 5,000m with a 15:20.73 time at the NCAA Indoor Championships. At the prep level before Provo, she was a three-time state cross country champion, three-time state champion in the 3,200m, two-time state champion in the 1,600m and a state champion in the 800m.

Chari Hawkins

Women's heptathlon

Rexburg, Idaho | Madison High School graduate

Utah State University graduate

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

Hawkins hit the qualifying mark with a personal-best 6,366 points in August 2023 at the World Track and Field Championships, finishing eighth out of 24 competitors in Budapest, Hungary. She is currently ranked No. 12 in the world in the women's heptathlon.

The Rexburg native entered the meet ranked No. 15 in the world and punched her ticket to Budapest by finishing third in the heptathlon at the 2023 Toyota USAF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field. Hawkins returns to the University of Oregon in June for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Hawkins also represented the United States in Qatar at the world championships in 2019, finishing 12th in the heptathlon. She earned all-district and all-state honors at Madison before heading to Logan. Hawkins holds records at Utah State in the heptathlon (5,750 points), pentathlon (4, 194) and high jump (1.83 meters/6-0.25).

Sadi Henderson

Women's 800m

Boise State University graduate | Hamilton, Montana

Atlanta Track Club

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

Henderson was a four-time All-American honoree and six-time Mountain West champion at Boise State before transferring to San Francisco prior to the 2018-2019 season. She captured three conference titles in the distance medley relay as a Bronco.

The Montana native was named the USTFCCCA West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2018 after setting a Mountain West Indoor Championships record by running a 2:03.95. Henderson earned second team All-American at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships.

The former Bronco standout heads to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials after winning the women's 800-meter with a 2:00.87 in April at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Henderson also claimed eighth at Track Fest in Los Angeles in May by running a 2:03.48.

Marisa Howard

Women's 3,000m steeplechase

Boise State University graduate | Pasco, Washington

Tracksmith / Idaho Afoot

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

Howard has been eyeing the Paris Olympics ever since her steeplechase career took off, and inches closer with a trip to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The former Boise State star finished fourth in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a 9:34.01 at the Portland Track Festival on June 8.

In her first trip to the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships after the birth of her son Kai, Howard finished fifth and hit the qualifying mark by running a 9:22.73 in July 2023. Prior to the performance, the Pasco native talked to KTVB about returning to racing as a mother and working as a part-time nurse.

Howard took third place with a 9:31.38 in the steeplechase at the Payton Jordan Invitational in April in Palo Alto, California. She was one of eight former Broncos selected to the Mountain West 25th Season Cross Country Team.

MaLeigha Menegatti

Women's 800m

Boise State University graduate | Pueblo West, Colorado

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

The most recent standout in a long line of Boise State track and field stars captured 2023 Mountain West titles in both the indoor and outdoor women's 800-meter race and made three trips to the NCAA West Preliminary Round between 2021 and 2023.

Fellow Bronco graduates Sadi Henderson and Kristie Schoffield are included in the list of entries for the women's 800m at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the University of Oregon. Menegatti's best time of the year came in April when she finished third in the 800-meter run at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a time of 2:03.92.

The 24-year-old also earned all-conference status in events such as the indoor 4x400m relay, outdoor 4x400m relay and indoor distance medley relay at Boise State. Menegatti won the 400m, 800m and 1,600m at the Pueblo City/Country Championships as a high school senior.

Allie Ostrander

Women's 3,000m steeplechase

Boise State University graduate | Kenai, Alaska

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

The fan favorite and Boise State legend has spent most of the last year running cross country, but returned to the oval with Paris quickly approaching. Ostrander and Howard are set to return to Hayward Field in Eugene, where they both advanced through the preliminary rounds during the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Ostrander put on a massive performance at the Portland Track Festival on June 8, winning the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 9:24.70. She finished ahead of Kenya's Pamela Kosgei (9:28.88) and India's Parul Chaudhary (9:31.38).

Within the last year, the former Bronco has been selected to the Mountain West 25th Season Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. Ostrander took fourth at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a 9:37.65 in the steeplechase and fourth at Track Fest in Los Angeles by running a 9:32.87 in May.

Kristie Schoffield

Women's 800m

Boise State University graduate | Concord, New Hampshire

New Balance

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field: June 21 - June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon

Schoffield captured the national championship in the women's 800-meter in 2022, setting a Mountain West, Boise State and personal-record with a time of 2:01.09. The New Hampshire native, who was selected to the Mountain West's 25th Season Outdoor Track and Field Team, was the third woman in program history to win an individual outdoor national title.

The former Bronco returns to Eugene for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials after cruising to a qualifying time of 2:00.14 in July 2023 at the Meeting Sport e Solidarieta Lignano in Italy. Schoffield finished second at the competition in the 800m.

Schoffield ran a 1:59.80 at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field, a time that still ranks first in Boise State history in the women's 800m. She ran a 2:02.66 at the Music City Track Carnival in Tennessee on June 1, before posting a 2:03.93 at the USATF New York City Gran Prix on June 9.

Sam Atkin

Men's 10,000m

Lewis-Clark State College graduate

Great Britain | Lincolnshire, England

The most-decorated runner in Lewis-Clark State College history looks to make his second appearance on the world's largest stage with a trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The former Warriors' assistant cross country coach became the second LCSC alumnus to compete in the Olympics in 2021.

Atkin finished eighth and almost topped Mo Farah's British all-time record in the 5,000m with a 12:54.66 at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix in May. He's currently ranked No. 35 in the world in the 5,000m and has been ranked as high as No. 32. Atkin also spent two weeks ranked No. 16 in the men's 10,000m.

The 31-year-old runner won the British 10,000m title in London in May 2022 by clocking a 27:31.98. Atkin made his way to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for the World Athletics Championships in July 2022, placing 10th in the men's 5,000m with a 13:34.36.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bird

Women's 3,000m steeplechase

Coached by Boise State head coach Pat McCurry

Great Britain | St. Albans Herts, England

ASICS Europe

Bird is one of several world-class athletes to have been coached by McCurry, who was named the head coach of Boise State track and field and cross country teams on June 3. Bird in August 2022 lowered the British record with a 9:07.87 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.

She had previously broke her own record while representing Great Britain in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished ninth in the steeplechase. Bird was born in Manila, Philippines, and her family spent time living in Pakistan and Dubai before moving back to the UK.

The Olympian graduated from Princeton and earned a master's in international studies from the University of San Francisco, where McCurry was the head coach from 2018 to 2021. Bird has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world in the steeplechase, with a pair of bronze medals from the European Athletics Championships and a silver medal from the XXII Commonwealth Games.

Sofia Huerta

Women's soccer

Boise, Idaho | Centennial High School graduate

Seattle Reign FC

The two-time Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year entered the NWSL season with 169 regular season appearances, tied for the 11th-most games played in league history. Huerta is the only player to score at least one goal and tally multiple assists in every season since being selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NWSL Draft.

Huerta became the first player from the Gem State to make a U.S. Women's World Cup roster in June 2023, and now looks to earn a roster spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Seattle Reign FC extended the dominant defender through the 2027 NWSL season in April.

The former Centennial High School standout was named to the 2022 National Women's Soccer League Best XI First Team, honoring the top players in the league. She was also a finalist for NWSL Defender of the Year.

Adrienne Lyle

Equestrian dressage

Trains in Sun Valley, Idaho

Whidbey Island, Washington | Washington State

The two-time Olympian was born and raised on Whidbey Island and attended Washington State University before working with equestrian trainer Debbie McDonald in Ketchum. Lyle is on a quest to repeat on the podium this summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lyle helped the United States equestrian team win silver in the Grand Prix Special at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Lyle and her horse, Salvino, stamped their mark with a 76.109% early in the competition. She also placed 19th in the individual dressage event in Tokyo and finished 37th at the 2012 London Olympics in the individual final.

It will be a new pair if Lyle reaches Paris after Salvino, the 2022 International Horse of the Year she road in Tokyo, retired. At the Myakka City Olympic observation event at TerraNova in April, Lyle and her new partner Helix won the Grand Prix with a score of 72.021% and the Grand Prix Special with a 73.979%.

Emilia Guerra-Acuña

Women's beach volleyball

Boise State University | San Antonio, Texas

Mexico | 210 Beach Volleyball Club

During Guerra-Acuña's junior season this spring, her and partner Ava Anderson went on a 10-match winning streak and were promoted to the Broncos' No. 2 spot. The duo went 24-14 on the season, including 14-7 in the No. 2 slot, on their way to second team all-conference honors.

She earned a tryout with Mexico's national team during the season, flying out with her father chasing the dream of representing his native country. It served as an opportunity to get her foot in the door with the Mexico Olympic National Team and as a homecoming for Hector Guerra, who grew up in Monterrey, where the trial was located.

Guerra-Acuña told KTVB in April she would officially become a member of Mexico's beach volleyball team after completing paperwork for duel citizenship and planned to compete in international competitions through the summer. The Boise State standout is on track for a shot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if not part of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Did Not Qualify Eyes on LA 2028

Aden Attao

Men's wrestling (Greco-Roman 130 kg / heavyweight)

Boise, Idaho | Borah High School graduate

Oregon State University

The rising star will be a contender once again for the LA 2028 Summer Olympics. Attao finished third in Greco-Roman at 130 kg at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in mid-April. He defeated Courtney Freeman and Donny Longendyke, falling only to eventual champion Adam Coon.

Attao's performance in State College, Pennsylvania, earned him a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team for the 2024-2025 season. The Boise native went on to claim the U20 Greco championship at the 2024 U.S. Open, before repeating as champion in May at the U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Ohio.

Attao joined fellow Idahoan Mack Mauger as the 2022 Junior Triple Crown winners, a prestigious honor requiring three specific USA Wrestling national titles in the same year. The Borah standout won his second-straight 5A heavyweight state championship in February 2023 to conclude an undefeated senior season.

Will Barta

Men's cycling

Boise, Idaho | Boise High School graduate

Despite missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics, it's been a memorable year for the Boise native. Barta claimed his first-ever professional victory since turning pro in 2019 by winning the final stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in February with a time of 2:08:18, outlasting Jonathan Milan.

Barta started racing with the Boise Young Rider Development Squad (BYRDS) at 11 years old and was with the highly-regarded development team Axeon Hagens Berman through 2018. He was teammates with fellow Boisean Matteo Jorgenson on the Basque-country based Movistar Team until Jorgenson joined Team Visma-Lease a Bike.

The 28-year-old claimed third at the ITT and finished fifth overall in the 2023 O Gran Camiño. Barta finished 15th overall and second among American cyclists on general classification in the 82nd edition of the Paris-Nice in March 2024.

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