2011 Cross Country Roster
Roster
Nelson, Aaron

Aaron Nelson
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Walla Walla, Wash.
- High School:
- Walla Walla
Bio
2016 and 2014 Pac-12 Steeplechase Champion
2016 All-America Second Team (5,000m Indoors) and honorable mention (Steeplechase)
2016 and 2015 MPSF 5,000m Champion
2015 All-America Second Team (5,000m Indoors)
2014 and 2013 All-American in Cross Country
Nelson Features
ยปย All About The Teamย (UW Daily; Sept. 24, 2014)
ยปย Suddenly, Aaron Nelson Shines (GoHuskies.com; Oct. 18, 2013)
ยป Eclectic Freshmen Group Energizes Husky Men (GoHuskies.com; Nov. 7, 2011)
2015-16 (Track): Capped his Husky career with a second Pac-12 title in the steeplechase and raced at both NCAA Championships indoors and out โฆ advanced to his first NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase by winning his West Prelims quarterfinal heat in a time of 8:46.49, but struggled at nationals and finished 24th in 9:03.33 to finish as All-America honorable mention ... won the Pac-12 steeplechase title for the second time, setting a major PR in the process, as he ran 8:39.58 on his home track for the victory ... that time moved him to No. 3 in school history in the steeple, and the next day he also went to No. 3 in the 5,000-meters, as he ran 13:42.06 to finish third in the Pac-12 5k ... a solid 5,000-meter run at the Payton Jordan Invite, coming across in 13:58.89 ... steepled for the first time on the year at the UW-WSU Dual and took the victory in a time of 9:01.30 ... ran his first 10k on the track in two years, and was the top collegiate finisher at the Stanford Invite in a time of 28:53.70 ... that run at Stanford earned him Pac-12 Menโs Track Athlete of the Week honors ... reached NCAA Indoors in the 5,000-meters for the second straight year, and despite coming in as the 16th seed, finished 11th overall to earn All-America Second Team honors ... just missed his own school record by less than a second with a season-best 5k of 13:48.41 at the Husky Classic, finishing ninth ... successfully defended his MPSF Championships 5,000-meter title, winning in 13:49.93 ... set a new indoor 3,000-meters PR in his first race of the season, going 8:01.02 at the UW Invitational, moving to sixth on the Husky top-10 list.
2014-15 (Track): Had a record-setting indoor season and reached the NCAA West Prelims once again outdoors but missed some time in the spring ...ย Did not make his outdoor debut until the UW-WSU Dual on May 2, but showed good form in his opener with a steeplechase time of 8:56.16, taking second ... made West Prelims in Austin in the steeplechase, placing 42nd overall in a time of 9:18.80 ... was 10th in the steeple at the Pac-12 Championships in 9:00.33, and then was 12th in the 5,000-meters in 14:18.86 ... earned All-America Second Team honors indoors in the 5,000-meters, qualifying for his first indoor NCAA meet and finishing 12th overall ... competed just three times total indoors, all 5,000-meter runs, breaking the school record the first time out and winning the MPSF Championship in the second ... season-opener came at the Husky Classic, where he ran 13:47.42 to set the 5k school record ... won the MPSF 5k title with a time of 13:53.80 ...ย (Cross Country): Became the first Husky menโs runner ever to earn multiple All-America honors, as he placed 21st at the NCAA Championships, just one spot off his 20th-place finish in 2013 โฆ led the Huskies in all six races, and finished his cross country career by leading the Dawgs in 12 consecutive races dating back through 2013 โฆ at NCAAs in Terre Haute, led the Huskies to 20th-place as a team with his 21st-place finish in a time of 30:42, becoming half of the first All-America tandem in UW history along with Tyler King who was 40th โฆ finished seventh at the NCAA West Regional meet in a time of 29:45, earning All-West Region honors โฆ led UW to a fourth-place finish at Pac-12s, placing 11th overall, to earn All-Pac-12 Second Team honors โฆ had one of his best races at the Wisconsin Invitational, taking third overall against a huge, talented field in 23:51, taking a brief lead late in the race โฆ took fifth at the inaugural Washington Invitational in a time of 23:33 โฆ won the Sundodger Invitational for the second year in a row, winning in 24:01.
2013-14 (Track): Captured the Pac-12 title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the first Husky to win that event since Mike Hill in 2002, as he charged past the leaders late to win in a time of 8:49.09, also a new PR โฆ stepped up to 10,000-meters for the first time on the track and posted the No. 2 time in school history, running 28:44.65 at the Stanford Invitational, a time that still ranked ninth nationally at the end of the season โฆ won the steeplechase in the UW-WSU Dual for the second straight year, going 8:56.71, then came back to take third in the 3,000m in 8:24.21 โฆ ran the steeple at NCAA West Prelims, but had a tough day and finished just 27th in 9:04.27 โฆ did not compete during the indoor seasonย ...ย (Cross Country): Enjoyed one of the best cross country seasons in Washington history, as he became the first Husky All-American in fifteen years thanks to a 20th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships โฆ his 20th-place finish in Terre Haute was the third-best NCAA run ever by a Husky, and the best since 1998 โฆ he completed the NCAA course in 30:27 for 10,000-meters in extremely muddy and cold conditions โฆ placed in the top-10 in every other race and led UW at every race โฆ qualified for NCAAs with an eighth-place finish at NCAA West Regionals, running 29:54 for 10k โฆ also was eighth at the Pac-12 Championships after leading the race for several kilometers, earning All-Pac-12 Second Team honors โฆ true breakout performance may have been his fourth-place finish at the Wisconsin Invitational, the largest field of the year, in 23:26 for 8k โฆ won back-to-back races to start the year, the first Husky to do that since the 1980s, starting with a win at the Sundodger Invitational in 23:50, and following with aย win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at Oregon in 23:55 โฆ his win at Oregon was the first individual win for a Husky male apart from the Sundodger Invite since Mark Mandi in 2005.
2012-13 (Track): Scored for the first time at the Pac-12 Championships as he took to the steeplechase in his first official outdoor season, and placed seventh in the conference final โฆ also qualified for NCAA West Prelims in the steeple, and finished 39th overall in Austin, Texas with a time of 9:12.91 โฆ Pac-12 time was a solid 8:59.70 in the hot conditions at USC โฆ also ran the 5,000-meters at Pac-12s, his only outdoor 5k of the year, and finished 13th in 14:30.12 โฆ ran a great steeple at the Pepsi Team Invite at Oregon, where he took third in a PR of 8:52.03 โฆ won a great battle in the UW-WSU Dual steeplechase, holding off a rival Cougar down the homestretch for the victory in 9:02.48, and then he returned to take third in the 3,000-meters later in the day in 8:17.47 โฆ posted a 1,500m best of 3:52.86 at the Mt. SAC Relays โฆ first steeple came at the Trojan Invitational where he ran 9:02.38 for fourth โฆ ran three times indoors, opening the year at the UW Indoor Preview with a mile run of 4:14.44, and followed with a 3k time of 8:18.38 at the UW Invitational ...ย (Cross Country): Ran in the top-five every time he competed in the fall, including the two championship races ... placed 25th at the Pac-12 Championships, third on the squad, in an 8k time of 24-minutes, 15-seconds, an improvement of 12 places from his first year ... was the No. 5 finisher for the Dawgs at West Regionals, placing 49th overall in 30:32 as the Huskies finished fifth as a team ... fourth among Huskies at the Adidas Wisconsin Invite, placing 158th overall ... started the season with a fifth-place finish, second on the squad, at the Sundodger Invite at Lincoln Park.
2011-12 (Track): Ran just once on the track season, completing the 3k at the UW Invitational in 8:26.91 ... redshirted the outdoor season and did not compete unattached ... (Cross Country): Was the top freshman on the Husky roster in his first fall season, and one of UW's most consistent runners ... after running unattached at the season-opening Sundodger, he went on to score for the Huskies at every race ... first race with the Husky jersey on was at the Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis, where he finished 67th as the No. 3 Washington finisher, clocking 25:18 ... was third among Huskies at the loaded Wisconsin Invitational, placing 170th ... ran well at his first Pac-12 Championships in Arizona, finishing 37th in 24:26 and fourth on the squad ... the third UW finisher at NCAA West Regionals, placing 67th in a time of 30:49 for his first 10k ... placed 14th at the Sundodger in his first college race in 24:47.
High School and Personal: Born in Moreno Valley, California ... parents are Juliet and Rob Nelson ... has one younger sister, Rachel ... one of the top distance runners in the state, took third at the Washington 4A State Cross Country Championships in the fall of 2010 ... named second team Northwest Region and first team All-State, and won the CBBN league title ... fourth at the 2010 Nike Pre-National meet ... placed 10th at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional, fifth among seniors ... named Big Nine Conference Runner of the Year in December 2010 ... as a junior in 2009, placed 20th at the cross country state championships ... on the track , took 13th at the Washington 4A state meet in the 1,600-meters as a senior ... ran at New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2011, placing seventh in the 5,000-meters in 15:12 ... 12th in the 3,200-meters at the 2011 Arcadia Invite in a PR of 9:16 ... was third at districts in the 3,200-meters as a junior and senior ... fifth at the 2010 Pasco Invitational at 3,200m in 9:18.65 ... also lettered two years in wrestling.
Major Meets
2011 Pac-12 XC - 37th (4th UW)
2011 Regional XC - 67th (3rd UW)
2012 Pac-12 XC - 25th (3rd UW)
2012 Regional XC - 49th (5th UW)
2013 Pac-12 TF - 7th, 3000m Steeplechase; 13th, 5000m
2013 NCAA Prelims TF - 39th, 3000m Steeplechase
2013 Pac-12 XC - 8th (1st UW)
2013 Regional XC - 8th (1st UW)
2013 NCAA XC - 20th (All-American)
2014 Pac-12 TF - 1st, 3000m Steeplechase (Pac-12 Champion)
2014 NCAA Prelims TF - 27th, 3000m Steeplecahse
2014 Pac-12 XC - 11th (1st UW)
2014 Regional XC - 7th (1st UW)
2014 NCAA XC - 21st (1st UW) (All-American)
2015 MPSF TF - 1st, 5000m (MPSF Champion)
2015 NCAA Indoors - 12th, 5000m (All-America Second Team)
2015 Pac-12 TF - 10th, 3000m Steeplechase | 12th, 5000m
2015 NCAA Prelims TF - 42nd, 3000m Steeplechase
2016 MPSF TF - 1st, 5000m (MPSF Champion)
2016 NCAA Indoors - 11th, 5000m (All-America Second Team)
2016 Pac-12 TF - 1st, 3000m Steeplechase (Pac-12 Champion) | 3rd, 5000m
2016 NCAA Prelims TF - 3rd, 3000m Steeplechase
2016 NCAA Outdoors - 24th, 3000m Steeplechase (All-America honorable mention)
ย
2016 All-America Second Team (5,000m Indoors) and honorable mention (Steeplechase)
2016 and 2015 MPSF 5,000m Champion
2015 All-America Second Team (5,000m Indoors)
2014 and 2013 All-American in Cross Country
Nelson Features
ยปย All About The Teamย (UW Daily; Sept. 24, 2014)
ยปย Suddenly, Aaron Nelson Shines (GoHuskies.com; Oct. 18, 2013)
ยป Eclectic Freshmen Group Energizes Husky Men (GoHuskies.com; Nov. 7, 2011)
2015-16 (Track): Capped his Husky career with a second Pac-12 title in the steeplechase and raced at both NCAA Championships indoors and out โฆ advanced to his first NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase by winning his West Prelims quarterfinal heat in a time of 8:46.49, but struggled at nationals and finished 24th in 9:03.33 to finish as All-America honorable mention ... won the Pac-12 steeplechase title for the second time, setting a major PR in the process, as he ran 8:39.58 on his home track for the victory ... that time moved him to No. 3 in school history in the steeple, and the next day he also went to No. 3 in the 5,000-meters, as he ran 13:42.06 to finish third in the Pac-12 5k ... a solid 5,000-meter run at the Payton Jordan Invite, coming across in 13:58.89 ... steepled for the first time on the year at the UW-WSU Dual and took the victory in a time of 9:01.30 ... ran his first 10k on the track in two years, and was the top collegiate finisher at the Stanford Invite in a time of 28:53.70 ... that run at Stanford earned him Pac-12 Menโs Track Athlete of the Week honors ... reached NCAA Indoors in the 5,000-meters for the second straight year, and despite coming in as the 16th seed, finished 11th overall to earn All-America Second Team honors ... just missed his own school record by less than a second with a season-best 5k of 13:48.41 at the Husky Classic, finishing ninth ... successfully defended his MPSF Championships 5,000-meter title, winning in 13:49.93 ... set a new indoor 3,000-meters PR in his first race of the season, going 8:01.02 at the UW Invitational, moving to sixth on the Husky top-10 list.
2014-15 (Track): Had a record-setting indoor season and reached the NCAA West Prelims once again outdoors but missed some time in the spring ...ย Did not make his outdoor debut until the UW-WSU Dual on May 2, but showed good form in his opener with a steeplechase time of 8:56.16, taking second ... made West Prelims in Austin in the steeplechase, placing 42nd overall in a time of 9:18.80 ... was 10th in the steeple at the Pac-12 Championships in 9:00.33, and then was 12th in the 5,000-meters in 14:18.86 ... earned All-America Second Team honors indoors in the 5,000-meters, qualifying for his first indoor NCAA meet and finishing 12th overall ... competed just three times total indoors, all 5,000-meter runs, breaking the school record the first time out and winning the MPSF Championship in the second ... season-opener came at the Husky Classic, where he ran 13:47.42 to set the 5k school record ... won the MPSF 5k title with a time of 13:53.80 ...ย (Cross Country): Became the first Husky menโs runner ever to earn multiple All-America honors, as he placed 21st at the NCAA Championships, just one spot off his 20th-place finish in 2013 โฆ led the Huskies in all six races, and finished his cross country career by leading the Dawgs in 12 consecutive races dating back through 2013 โฆ at NCAAs in Terre Haute, led the Huskies to 20th-place as a team with his 21st-place finish in a time of 30:42, becoming half of the first All-America tandem in UW history along with Tyler King who was 40th โฆ finished seventh at the NCAA West Regional meet in a time of 29:45, earning All-West Region honors โฆ led UW to a fourth-place finish at Pac-12s, placing 11th overall, to earn All-Pac-12 Second Team honors โฆ had one of his best races at the Wisconsin Invitational, taking third overall against a huge, talented field in 23:51, taking a brief lead late in the race โฆ took fifth at the inaugural Washington Invitational in a time of 23:33 โฆ won the Sundodger Invitational for the second year in a row, winning in 24:01.
2013-14 (Track): Captured the Pac-12 title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the first Husky to win that event since Mike Hill in 2002, as he charged past the leaders late to win in a time of 8:49.09, also a new PR โฆ stepped up to 10,000-meters for the first time on the track and posted the No. 2 time in school history, running 28:44.65 at the Stanford Invitational, a time that still ranked ninth nationally at the end of the season โฆ won the steeplechase in the UW-WSU Dual for the second straight year, going 8:56.71, then came back to take third in the 3,000m in 8:24.21 โฆ ran the steeple at NCAA West Prelims, but had a tough day and finished just 27th in 9:04.27 โฆ did not compete during the indoor seasonย ...ย (Cross Country): Enjoyed one of the best cross country seasons in Washington history, as he became the first Husky All-American in fifteen years thanks to a 20th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships โฆ his 20th-place finish in Terre Haute was the third-best NCAA run ever by a Husky, and the best since 1998 โฆ he completed the NCAA course in 30:27 for 10,000-meters in extremely muddy and cold conditions โฆ placed in the top-10 in every other race and led UW at every race โฆ qualified for NCAAs with an eighth-place finish at NCAA West Regionals, running 29:54 for 10k โฆ also was eighth at the Pac-12 Championships after leading the race for several kilometers, earning All-Pac-12 Second Team honors โฆ true breakout performance may have been his fourth-place finish at the Wisconsin Invitational, the largest field of the year, in 23:26 for 8k โฆ won back-to-back races to start the year, the first Husky to do that since the 1980s, starting with a win at the Sundodger Invitational in 23:50, and following with aย win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at Oregon in 23:55 โฆ his win at Oregon was the first individual win for a Husky male apart from the Sundodger Invite since Mark Mandi in 2005.
2012-13 (Track): Scored for the first time at the Pac-12 Championships as he took to the steeplechase in his first official outdoor season, and placed seventh in the conference final โฆ also qualified for NCAA West Prelims in the steeple, and finished 39th overall in Austin, Texas with a time of 9:12.91 โฆ Pac-12 time was a solid 8:59.70 in the hot conditions at USC โฆ also ran the 5,000-meters at Pac-12s, his only outdoor 5k of the year, and finished 13th in 14:30.12 โฆ ran a great steeple at the Pepsi Team Invite at Oregon, where he took third in a PR of 8:52.03 โฆ won a great battle in the UW-WSU Dual steeplechase, holding off a rival Cougar down the homestretch for the victory in 9:02.48, and then he returned to take third in the 3,000-meters later in the day in 8:17.47 โฆ posted a 1,500m best of 3:52.86 at the Mt. SAC Relays โฆ first steeple came at the Trojan Invitational where he ran 9:02.38 for fourth โฆ ran three times indoors, opening the year at the UW Indoor Preview with a mile run of 4:14.44, and followed with a 3k time of 8:18.38 at the UW Invitational ...ย (Cross Country): Ran in the top-five every time he competed in the fall, including the two championship races ... placed 25th at the Pac-12 Championships, third on the squad, in an 8k time of 24-minutes, 15-seconds, an improvement of 12 places from his first year ... was the No. 5 finisher for the Dawgs at West Regionals, placing 49th overall in 30:32 as the Huskies finished fifth as a team ... fourth among Huskies at the Adidas Wisconsin Invite, placing 158th overall ... started the season with a fifth-place finish, second on the squad, at the Sundodger Invite at Lincoln Park.
2011-12 (Track): Ran just once on the track season, completing the 3k at the UW Invitational in 8:26.91 ... redshirted the outdoor season and did not compete unattached ... (Cross Country): Was the top freshman on the Husky roster in his first fall season, and one of UW's most consistent runners ... after running unattached at the season-opening Sundodger, he went on to score for the Huskies at every race ... first race with the Husky jersey on was at the Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis, where he finished 67th as the No. 3 Washington finisher, clocking 25:18 ... was third among Huskies at the loaded Wisconsin Invitational, placing 170th ... ran well at his first Pac-12 Championships in Arizona, finishing 37th in 24:26 and fourth on the squad ... the third UW finisher at NCAA West Regionals, placing 67th in a time of 30:49 for his first 10k ... placed 14th at the Sundodger in his first college race in 24:47.
High School and Personal: Born in Moreno Valley, California ... parents are Juliet and Rob Nelson ... has one younger sister, Rachel ... one of the top distance runners in the state, took third at the Washington 4A State Cross Country Championships in the fall of 2010 ... named second team Northwest Region and first team All-State, and won the CBBN league title ... fourth at the 2010 Nike Pre-National meet ... placed 10th at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional, fifth among seniors ... named Big Nine Conference Runner of the Year in December 2010 ... as a junior in 2009, placed 20th at the cross country state championships ... on the track , took 13th at the Washington 4A state meet in the 1,600-meters as a senior ... ran at New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2011, placing seventh in the 5,000-meters in 15:12 ... 12th in the 3,200-meters at the 2011 Arcadia Invite in a PR of 9:16 ... was third at districts in the 3,200-meters as a junior and senior ... fifth at the 2010 Pasco Invitational at 3,200m in 9:18.65 ... also lettered two years in wrestling.
Major Meets
2011 Pac-12 XC - 37th (4th UW)
2011 Regional XC - 67th (3rd UW)
2012 Pac-12 XC - 25th (3rd UW)
2012 Regional XC - 49th (5th UW)
2013 Pac-12 TF - 7th, 3000m Steeplechase; 13th, 5000m
2013 NCAA Prelims TF - 39th, 3000m Steeplechase
2013 Pac-12 XC - 8th (1st UW)
2013 Regional XC - 8th (1st UW)
2013 NCAA XC - 20th (All-American)
2014 Pac-12 TF - 1st, 3000m Steeplechase (Pac-12 Champion)
2014 NCAA Prelims TF - 27th, 3000m Steeplecahse
2014 Pac-12 XC - 11th (1st UW)
2014 Regional XC - 7th (1st UW)
2014 NCAA XC - 21st (1st UW) (All-American)
2015 MPSF TF - 1st, 5000m (MPSF Champion)
2015 NCAA Indoors - 12th, 5000m (All-America Second Team)
2015 Pac-12 TF - 10th, 3000m Steeplechase | 12th, 5000m
2015 NCAA Prelims TF - 42nd, 3000m Steeplechase
2016 MPSF TF - 1st, 5000m (MPSF Champion)
2016 NCAA Indoors - 11th, 5000m (All-America Second Team)
2016 Pac-12 TF - 1st, 3000m Steeplechase (Pac-12 Champion) | 3rd, 5000m
2016 NCAA Prelims TF - 3rd, 3000m Steeplechase
2016 NCAA Outdoors - 24th, 3000m Steeplechase (All-America honorable mention)
ย
Outdoor Bests
1500m.......3:52.86
5000m.......13:42.06
10000m.......28:44.65
3000m Steeplechase.......8:39.58
Indoor Bests
Mile.......4:14.44
3000m.......8:01.02
5000m.......13:47.42 $
$ - School Record
1500m.......3:52.86
5000m.......13:42.06
10000m.......28:44.65
3000m Steeplechase.......8:39.58
Indoor Bests
Mile.......4:14.44
3000m.......8:01.02
5000m.......13:47.42 $
$ - School Record
Raising the Bar | Hana & Amanda Moll
Monday, August 04
Women's 1500m final - 2025 NCAA outdoor track and field championship
Sunday, June 15
Nathan Green | 2025 NCAA 1500m Champion
Saturday, June 14
Track & Field NCAA Championships | Huskies Highlights
Friday, June 13