Three...Two...One...

Three all-time Utah top five performances (including two by freshmen) two dominating event victories, and one meet and venue record!!! That was our day in Boise yesterday. There were also a ton of PR's and tough performances by many of our athletes.

Freshman Nikkie Rudder was the runner-up in the shot put (by seven inches) but had yet another lifetime best throw (45-10.5). That throw moves her to fifth on the all-time Utah list. She also Pr'd in the weight throw. Another freshman, Angie Kaplar (pictured above) ran a personal best time of 8.85 to finish fifth overall and move into fifth place on the all-time list. Junior Alyssa Abbott ran on an indoor track for the first time in three years and ran the third fastest mile in Utah history (4:55.08) and narrowly missing former teammate Chelsea DiGrazia's school record (4:53).

Abbott's time was also good enough for an easy win in the mile event. Sophomore Lucy Yates went to the front from the gun and dominated the 800m run in 2:11.32.

Finally, former Ute and current volunteer assistant Shayla Houlihan continued her post collegiate career by winning the 3K in a new venue and meet record time of 9:30.17. That time is only 3.17 seconds from the USA Indoor National meet qualifying standard. It was also a lifetime best by 20 seconds. Houlihan will attempt to achieve the qualifying mark again in two weeks in Seattle, WA.

Other notable performances:
Sophomore Langley Iverson was second (on misses) in the high jump clearing 5-6 3/4.
Freshman Amanda Mergaert was fifth in the mile in a lifetime best 5:06.54. In her first ever mile she won the second heat by a lot so that time is outstanding!
Freshman Delaney Fox ran a huge PR in the 60 hurdles (9.09) to place seventh.
Freshman Jenny McCune ran 10:39 in her first ever 3K.
Ashley Mosely FR, Alyssa Johnson FR, Chelsey Kaplar SR, and Lauren McKay FR finished 3-4-7-8 in the 400m dash

I thought we had a great meet in most events. Even the events we didn't place as high as hoped we saw great improvement. Look at the list above and notice how many of those great performances came from underclassmen...including two all time top five performances. We will compete at the Mountain States Games hosted by Idaho State next weekend. This is another quality meet that will help us continue to improve before our biggest regular season meets.