Utes Finish 3rd at Conference Championships

To say this team has been a pleasure to work with would be a complete understatement.  With four seniors the leadership has been outstanding.  Together we have all made each other better.  I have helped them become better runners and outstanding people.  They have helped me become a better coach and program leader.  All of our hard work culminated on a perfect day in San Diego this past Saturday morning.  It was 75 degrees, sunny, and just the slightest breeze blowing in off of Mission Bay where we ran this years Mountain West Conference Championship meet.  

The course was a 2K loop that the women ran three times.  Our team executed the early stages of our race plan to perfection.  With 4K to go we started our move and ran our best team race of the year.  With our top five runners finishing in the top 22 we finished third in the team standings--the highest placing for Utah in the 10 year history of the Mountain West.  

Junior Alyssa Abbott led the way finishing fourth overall and was named MWC First Team All-Conference.  Senior Chelsea DiGrazia finished 13th landing her on the MWC All-Conference Second team.  Seniors Janett Ern, Lauren Endersen, and Kellie Anderson placed 18th, 20th, and 22nd to round out the scoring five.  Sophmore Samantha Gaffney (37th), freshman Carly Selleck (53rd), and sophomore Alexis Davis (69th) also ran for the Utes.  

Every gal on our team (even those who did not run this meet) has played a huge role in our improvement.  It's great to see all of their hard work pay off in one of our most important meets of the year.  Next is the NCAA Regional meet on November 15th in Ft Collins, CO.