Spring Break

Spring break is here!  I know many of our athletes are happy for the break academically.  We will train together through Tuesday and then they will have five days on their own.  It's been very exciting on campus as both our men's and women's basketball teams won their respective conference tournaments and will be playing in the NCAA tournament.  We will all be rooting for them.  

Our outdoor schedule begins with meets at Stanford and Arizona State in two weeks.  Be sure to follow us at www.utahutes.com.  

Utah Cross Country Finishes 6th in the Nation

We found out today that our program has reached another big milestone.  After finishing just out of the top ten in the country for team GPA the last two years (12th-2006; 13th-2007) our team completed the 2008 Fall semester with the sixth highest GPA in Division I.  Our team GPA was 3.656.  

Junior Alyssa Abbott was named to the Division I Cross Country All Academic team.  She finished 76th at the NCAA Championships and carried a 3.809 GPA in Exercise Physiology.  

Seniors Lauren Endersen and Kellie Anderson had perfect 4.00 GPAs.  Janett Ern (3.800), Sam Gaffney (3.736) and Chelsea DiGrazia (3.65) also made key contributions to this effort.  

This is the perfect reward to what was an outstanding season on and off the course.  I couldn't be prouder of a group of young women.  The four seniors have been with me since I arrived four years ago.  They never stopped believing in each other or what we were trying to build here at Utah. That belief and that passion has been rewarded with national level success that this program has not seen in quite a while.  

What to do in SLC???

So...besides attending one of the premier academic institutions in the U.S., running and training in one of the most beautiful areas in the country, being part of one of the Top 20 Division I college athletic programs in the nation, having 11 of the best ski resorts in the world within 45 minutes of campus, and living in a family oriented city...what else is there to do you ask.

Sports.....

Basketball--Home of the NBA's Utah Jazz (see picture above from a recent home game)

Baseball--Home of the Triple A Salt Lake Bees (Anaheim Angels affiliate)

Speed Skating--Home of ISU World Cup Speed Skating events

Dew Tour--Pro Skateboard Tour event held in the summer

Professional Skiing/Snowboarding events held in Park City

Professional Ski Jumping events held at Olympic Ski Jump Park near Park City

Rodeo--Days of '47 Professional Rodeo Event

University of Utah Athletics

   -'09 Sugar Bowl Champion and undefeated (13-0) Football

   -Conference leading men's and women's Basketball teams

    -#1 Ranked Gymnastics team

    -Sweet 16 and conference champion volleyball team

   -Nationally ranked men's and women's ski teams

    -National level track & field, cross country, soccer, softball, baseball, swim & diving teams

Shopping....

Gateway Shopping Center (built for Olympics) outdoor shopping and dining

Outlet Mall at Kimball Junction (72 stores including Nike, Adidas, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Abercrombie, etc.)

7 other shopping malls within 10 mile radius of campus

Sugarhouse--Several locally owned shops and boutiques located 10 minutes from campus

Entertainment....

Concerts of all sizes (see picture from recent Big Head Todd & the Monsters concert at local venue)

Recent concerts:  Rascal Flatts, Hannah Montana, MC Hammer & Vanilla Ice, Tracy Lawrence, Metallica, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Kenny Chesney, etc.

Summer concert series with a variety of superstars and local talent

Lagoon-Amusement Park

Raging Waters-Water Park

Hundreds of miles of hiking, biking, and running trails

Any questions???  

Most points at conference meet ever

Pic 1:  Coach Kepler holds a team meeting to passionately speak about the weekend performances

Pic 2:  The 4x400m relay team accepts their runner-up medals.  They ran a season best time of 3:49.

Pic 3  Grad Assistant Shayla Houlihan, Lucy Yates, and Coach Kepler discuss the upcoming 800 meter prelims.

 I am very proud of the effort this past weekend at our indoor conference championships.  Our team put up it's highest point total in the ten year history of the MWC indoor meet to finish fourth.   We ended up only two points from third place in the team standings.   

Freshman Bree Leroy got us rolling by placing seventh in the pentathlon on Thursday.  We were able to carry that momentum into Friday and scored 30 more points with runner up finishes in the 5K (Lauren Endersen) and 20lb weight throw (Josefin Berg) leading the way.  

Saturday was far from perfect as we had four runners trip, get cut off, or fall during their races. However, our group continued to be resilient all day and fight for every point.  That focus and determination is what ultimately allowed us to finish as high as we did.  

This program has grown by leaps and bounds (pardon the pun) in my four years as the head coach.  They now embrace tough competition.  They can now persevere through less than ideal circumstances.  They now have confidence and believe in themselves and each other.  I am ultimately proud of everyone associated with our program (student athletes, assistant coaches, administrators, alumni, and family supporters) because together we have made this happen. 

2008-2009 MWC Championship finishes:

Cross Country-3rd (highest in school history)

Indoor T/F-4th (ties highest in school history and most points ever at championship meet)

Outdoor T/F-?????  

Be sure to follow us throughout the outdoor season for more fun and great performances!