It's an old cliche, but it's what championship events are all about. The first round of the NCAA outdoor championships is no exception. In the process a school record went down and two advance to the quarterfinals.
Lucy Yates ran 2:06.21 to break the school record in the 800 meter run. She ran the second fasted time overall in the preliminary round. The old school record was 2:06.67 set by Nellie Hammons in 2004. She will be competing on Friday at 6:45pm local time for a spot in the semi finals to be held in two weeks in Eugene, OR.
Junior Alyssa Abbott ran a very controlled race to finish third in her heat of the 1500 meters (4:24.43) and advance easily to the quarterfinal round on Saturday evening at 6:45 CDT.
Senior Chelsey Kaplar closed out her Utah career by finishing 36th overall in the 400 hurdles (1:01.36). That time wasn't good enough to advance but I thought she represented herself well. She has had an outstanding career and will be greatly missed in many capacities as she was more than just an outstanding athlete. She was a very good student and a great teammate. It will be nice to have her around helping out next year as she finishes her degree.
A pair of freshmen competed at the NCAA meet for the first time. Nikkie Rudder finished 37th overall in the shot put (44-8) and Amanda Mergaert was 31st in the 800 meter run (2:09.82). To qualify for this meet as a freshman is an amazing achievement and the experience they now have will be invaluable for the future.
Lucy is our only competitor tomorrow. Saturday we have four more athletes in three events. It's only going to get tougher, but we will be ready to go.
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