To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

Jacob White honored Steve Prefontaine’s running doctrine during his Hayward Field debut on Friday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The dogged Wyoming junior finished in the 5,000-meter final in 15th place with a time of 13 minutes, 37.82 seconds to earn All-American second team honors.

Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau (13:20.59) outlasted New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel (13:20.89), the Mountain West champion, to win the title.

“It was a tough race,” said White, whose left leg was dripping blood after getting sliced by a competitor’s cleat. “It was not the race I wanted, but I’m still blessed to get out there and compete. I’m ready to get back to work. … It shows me where I am and where I want to be.”

White made a move from near the back of the pack and caught the lead group at the 3K mark. He trailed off over the final 200 meters behind five different runners who set personal records.

“He fought hard and gave everything he had. I thought he made the right moves and gave himself the best chance. He can be very proud of that,” UW distance coach Scott Dahlberg said. “I know he’s going to want more. It’s a great experience that he had success with. It’s just going to be great momentum for him to get back here next year and do even better.”

White finished fourth with a UW record time of 13:27.32 at the NCAA regional in College Station, Texas, to punch his ticket to Eugene. He set UW indoor records in the mile (4:00.46) and 3K (7:49.17) this year.

Ryker Holtzen, who set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:34.95) at the NCAA regional and earned All-American second team status after finishing 15th during Wednesday’s semifinals, holds the school’s indoor 5,000 record (13:41.39).

The duo led the Pokes men’s cross country team to the NCAAs.

“He gave it a good crack,” Holtzen said after cheering White on from the front row at historic Hayward Field. “I think it will just push us. With the year we had going to cross nationals. We want to do that again and gain experience from it, gain experience from this and come back better.”

Daniel Reynolds wrapped up his Cowboy career by earning All-American honors in the hammer throw (first team) and shot put (honorable mention) after finishing seventh and 22nd, respectively, in the finals on Wednesday. The senior from Granby, Colorado, won the national title in the weight throw during the indoor season.

“We’re going to leave here with a first-team All-Americans and two second-team All-Americans. More importantly, I loved the way the kids competed,” UW head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “I thought they left it all out there. It can be a long season and this time of the year you never know what kind of gas they have left in the tank. I thought the three kids we had here competed extremely well and left everything out there. Poke Nation can be proud of them.”

The 5K was the final individual championship on Friday night. It has been a fan favorite on these hallowed grounds since Prefontaine set the American record at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials.

The 2024-25 Pokes didn’t sacrifice their gifts.

“Oregon is a special place, especially for distance runners,” Berryhill said. “Anytime you get a chance to go out there and run, maybe not the same track Pre was on but the same location, that’s pretty special for a distance runner. I know it meant a lot for Jacob and Ryker to be out there on that track.”