Historic Weekend!!!

Arguably one of the best weekends in Utah indoor track & field history has come to an end. The final day of the conference championships provided more records and another champion. After breaking the school record in the DMR on Friday evening, it was the 4x400 meter relays turn. Three freshmen and senior Chelsey Kaplar put together their best splits of the season to run 3:45.35 which was good for third place and all conference honors. This group is really starting to figure it out. Outdoors could be really special.

Another school record went down in the mile and involved another freshman. Amanda Mergaert who was the lead leg on the conference champion DMR team ran from sixth to second over the final 150 meters to run 4:51.21 (altitude converted). She loves to compete and embraces every challenge.

Junior Alyssa Abbott won her second conference title in as many days as she ran a very controlled 9:41.57 (altitude adjusted) and pulled away on the final lap. She has become our rock, our go to performer. You've never seen two easier looking/controlled races than the two she ran this weekend.

Sophomore Langley Iverson cleared 5-8.75 to take runner-up honors in the high jump. Bree Leroy was eighth and scored in three events this weekend (pentathlon, long jump, and high jump). Langley loves the big meets and Bree was ultra determined all weekend.

Freshman Alyssa Johnson broke the Winnipeg (Canada) junior national record in the prelims of the 400m dash (55.60) came back to place fifth in the finals (56.12). She just gets better every time out. Freshmen shot putter Nikkie Rudder was eighth (43-3.25). Nikkie is tough as nails mentally. She wasn't throwing her best, but kept fighting for that point. Sophomore Lucy Yates (another member of the champion DMR team) was seventh in the 800 meter final. The final was Lucy's third 800 in less than 12 hours. She was disappointed with seventh in the final, but she really was one of our MVP's.

Overall we were fourth as a team and exceeded everyone's expectations including mine! We came to compete in every event. I can't imagine being prouder of such a young group. Even the gals who didn't score or qualify for finals competed their guts out. Our freshmen really responded well in their first meet of this magnitude. Our veterans were outstanding. This team hates to lose and they fought for every point in every event. That's what championship level teams do!

Utes Win DMR

It was a historical day for our program. Freshman Amanda Mergaert-3:35, senior Chelsey Kaplar-55.9, sophomore Lucy Yates-2:10 and junior Alyssa Abbott-4:57 won Utah's first ever relay at the MWC Championships. The quartet teamed to win the distance medley relay in 11:38.59. That time is a school record by over 25 seconds, is the second fastest time ever run at the MWC Championship meet, and the third fastest time ever recorded in MWC history. That performance was only two seconds shy of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard and just over a second off the facility record. Amazing stuff!!!

We had some other outstanding performances on the day. Senior Sarah Grimm landed all conference honors in the weight throw by finishing third. We also had two freshmen qualify for the finals of the 400 meter dash. Bree Leroy continued her outstanding meet by placing seventh in the long jump final. Yates advanced to Saturday's 800 meter run final only an hour before her leg on the DMR. Freshman Theresa Waybright was eleventh in the pole vault. We are currently in fifth place in the team race only two points from fourth.

Saturdays finals will feature freshmen Nikkie Rudder and Grimm in the shot put, sophomore Langley Iverson and Leroy in the high jump, Mergaert in the mile, Yates in the 800, Abbott in the 3K, and the 4x400m relay.

Nice Morning Run

Shayla (my volunteer assistant and post collegiate athlete) and I went for a nice morning run on the canal trail on the west side of Albuquerque. She was getting in her premeet run before her 3K race at the US Indoor National Championships tomorrow night. I was getting in my weekly long run of an hour. It was a little cooler than we expected for this time of year (had to scrape frost off the windshield) but fortunately we both packed gear for it. We followed that with breakfast, some Dunkin Donuts coffee, and a tour of the UNM sports facilities.

Events get underway at the MWC meet at 1pm for us. After a great start yesterday we will look to capitalize on today's events/opportunities. Check out results at http://www.sml1.com/recordtiming/mwc/2010indoor/

Also look for a daily recap of our team's performances and quotes at www.utahutes.com

Off to a Great Start

Sophomore multi event athlete Bree Leroy has us off to a super start. She ran lifetime bests in two of the five pentathlon events today (9.04 in the 60m hurdles and 2:37.57 in the 800m run) which allowed her to set an overall event personal best of 3519. That total netted her fourth place overall and five huge team points. The top three spots were put up by seniors including the winning total of 4147 which currently leads the NCAA. Leroy finished seventh a year ago as a freshman with 3293 points.

A 220+ point improvement in a year is pretty impressive. Our coaching staff has done a great job with Bree and her development. Coach Bockman oversees her hurdles, long jump, and 800m run. Coach Kuusela works on the shot put with her. Our volunteer assistant, Andrew Levin covers the high jump. Having three coaches is probably not the way most programs coach their multi event athletes, however, I have a staff that works really well together and enjoys this approach. Most importantly Bree responds positively to each coach and has really stepped up her work ethic and passion to improve in each event.

I couldn't be prouder or happier for her with this performance. It's a great way to get the conference meet started. Hopefully, the rest of our team can use this momentum and put together an awesome meet.

Conference

The Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships are this weekend. The meet is being held at the Albuquerque Convention Center and hosted by the University of New Mexico. This is an outstanding facility and should lend to a great competition. Coach Bockman and Bree Leroy have already arrived in Albuquerque as the pentathlon starts tomorrow. The rest of the team and staff will fly down tomorrow morning. We have several athletes who could do very well. As a team we will be trying to finish in the top half of the league like we did a year ago when we were fourth. This year's team is much younger, but we believe we are prepared to compete as well as we have all year. Be sure to follow the meet live at:

http://www.sml1.com/recordtiming/mwc/2010indoor/

Also be sure to check back here as I will post my daily thoughts. For a full recap and full results be sure to check out www.utahutes.com as well.

Just a reminder that we will also have a former Ute competing at the US Indoor National Championship meet on Saturday night. Shayla Houlihan will be competing in the 3,000 meter run at this meet for the first time. She is currently ranked ninth in the country. Her race is slated to go off at 8:35MST. Go to www.usatf.org or check back here for results after the race.

The Final Tune Up...

Thursday afternoon was the final opportunity for our throwers to compete prior to our indoor conference championships next weekend. Senior Sarah Grimm continued to regain her consistency as she won the weight throw. Her winning toss was just under 60 feet. We also had the third and ninth place finishers as well. Freshman Anneli Stahl had a huge PR that landed beyond the 57 foot mark and sophomore Kastin Frostl crossed the 46 foot line for the first time.

The throws venue at Weber State is a local elementary gymnasium. It's a quaint setting that allows the spectators a very personal view. The ceiling and vent system are always in play but had never been hit until last night. In Grimm's quest for consistency she hit one of the air vents and the cover fell to the ground. Several efforts ended up on the adjacent stage where several spectators (including longtime Weber State women's coach Jim Blaisdell). Blaisdell barely avoided one of the throws by jumping out of the chair he was viewing the meet from. The incoming weight smashed the chair and bent the frame pretty good. During the men's weight throw an implement struck the ceiling and bent or broke several pieces of the ceiling frame which sent several panels and insulation to the ground. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the damage to the ceiling was minimal.

A Weekend to Remember...

Wow! What a day for the Utes!!! It started in Ames, IA with the fourth fastest mile time in school history (4:56.02) set by freshman Amanda Mergaert. It was only her second time running that race at the collegiate level. She won the unseeded sections and was 15th in all sections combined. Solid efforts by the other three freshman on the Iowa trip followed in the 800 meter and 400 meter races. Then it was the Seattle groups turn to grab that momentum and literally run, throw, and jump with it.

Sophomore Lucy Yates highlighted the day with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark (2:07.60) in the 800 meter run. That time moves her into second on the all time Utah list and surpasses her personal best by nearly three seconds. Langley Iverson followed that up with a lifetime best clearance of 5-9 3/4 in the high jump on her first attempt. That mark was .01cm short of the NCAA provisional mark. She now stands third in the all-time Utah record books. Fellow Galena HS alum (Reno, NV) Alyssa Abbott ran the first 3,000 meter race of her collegiate career and promptly moved into second place in the Utah record books with her 9:34.17 clocking. That effort placed the junior sixth in her heat, 18th overall, and was just short of the NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 9:32.00. Also in that race was former Ute runner and current volunteer assistant, Shayla Houlihan. Her goal was the 9:27.00 clocking required for entry into the USA Indoor National Championship meet in two weeks. She took over a dawdling opening pace (5:06 at 1600 and 6:21 at 2K) and closed in 3:02 over the last 1K to run a lifetime best of 9:23.82 and punch a ticket to her first ever US National Championship race.

Other notable performances included a personal best clearance of 12-4 by freshman Theresa Waybright in the pole vault. Freshmen 400 meter runners Ashley Mosley (56.99) and Alyssa Johnson (57.13) won their respective heats running season best times. The 4x400 meter relay team ran a season best time of 3:47.79 which is fourth all time at Utah. Johnson, Mosely, and Yates were joined by senior Chelsey Kaplar on that relay. Senior thrower Sarah Grimm finished fourth overall in the weight throw with a toss of 59-5 3/4.

It was a great weekend, maybe one of the best in Utah school history in terms of top level performances. I thought all of the athletes responded well to national level competition at both venues. We had a bunch of personal bests and all-time school best performances. Even those who didn't have their best day still performed at a high level and that will help them continue to improve. Lucy got caught up in traffic in the final straightaway so we know she can go faster. Langley competes at a high level every week. Having Alyssa return to national level form is a credit to her perseverance after dealing with multiple injuries. Grimm regained some confidence after a couple of sub par performances by her standards. The freshmen are learning and growing quickly which is really exciting when you think about the future of the program. We still have a few things to clean up and some sharpening that needs to take place before the conference championships in two weeks.

Having a former Ute continue to improve and compete at the highest level the Shayla has this season is exciting for everyone in the program.

The weather in Ames, IA was slightly less than welcoming. Record amounts of snowfall and extremely cold temperatures have led to drifting and snow piles everywhere as witnessed in the picture above.

DMR Posts Third Fastest Time Ever

The all freshmen quartet of Megan Combe (3:48), Lauryn McKay (58.1), Nikki Dotter(2:20.5), and Amanda Mergaert (4:57.3 finished 10th overall and ran the third fastest distance medley relay time (12:03.23) in Utah school history at the ISU Classic tonight.

I was pleased with the overall effort. That was Megan's first ever race at 1200 meters so the learning curve was very steep. Lauryn did a nice job to gain a few spots during the 400 meter leg. Nikki keeps improving week by week. Amanda's split was 10 seconds faster than a week ago which is not normal. She is really starting to figure things out and run with confidence. I was most impressed by this groups approach. They asked excellent questions and prepared like a veteran team rather than the young, inexperienced group that they are. That really bodes well for the future. They all competed very hard. Hopefully, we can recover and get prepared to run even better in tomorrow's individual events.

Dinner at Lucullans

This weekend is the biggest weekend of the regular season for indoor track. We are dividing our team and sending groups to Seattle, WA (Husky Classic) and Ames, IA (ISU Classic). We do this to take advantage of two premier indoor facilities in the country as well as the national level competition that will show up. I am with four freshmen in Ames, IA (near my hometown of Webster City, IA) who will be running a Distance Medley Relay on Friday and individual events on Saturday. Coach Bockman, Coach Kuusela, and our volunteers (Shayla and Andrew) will be headed to Seattle with 15 more athletes on Friday.

Our group of five arrived in Des Moines and ate lunch at the Iowa Bakery Cafe (former employer of Olympian hurdler Lolo Jones during her high school days). Outstanding as usual. These four had never been to Drake Stadium so we took a quick driving tour. A service gate was open so I did what any good track coach would do with such tight security present...I drove into the stadium right up to the edge the track. The girls wanted to take a lap, but I was afraid to get the minivan stuck in the four feet of snow covering the track. We arrived in Ames a short while later, checked into the hotel, went to the track for a premeet workout, and finally made it to dinner. (See picture). We chose a local Italian favorite located in downtown Ames...Lucallan. From there it was off to Target to grab a few breakfast specific items. All in all, it was a good travel day. Let's get some sleep and get ready to run fast in the DMR tomorrow at 3pm!

The World Comes to Utah to Train...

China, Norway, Sweden, Croatia....the list of athletes from international sites across the globe who come to Salt Lake City's perfect training conditions continues to grow. With the 2010 Winter Olympics set to begin on Friday speed skating teams from every corner of the earth are making last minute preparations in the same building that we conduct our indoor track and field training...the Utah Olympic Oval prior to going up to Vancouver. The atmosphere at our practices is always a lot of fun, but the excitement created by an Olympic year gives everyone a little bit more adrenaline rush on a daily basis.

Our team has trained very hard thus far and the results are showing with the numerous personal bests and all-time top ten performances in our schools history in a variety of events by athletes from every grade level and even our post collegiate athlete. The future is very bright for our program and the fact that we get to train in such a great facility that provides an Olympic style training environment is a huge advantage. Combine that with our new $2.6 million outdoor facility that is opening in June and it's easy to see why Utah Track & Field continues to reach new heights and develop some of the nations premier track athletes.

Progress!

We enjoyed another solid weekend of competition at the Mountain States Games hosted by Idaho State. We won two invitational events (high jump and 800 meters) and had several lifetime bests. Sophomore Langley Iverson (Reno, NV) won her first meet of the '10 season by clearing 5-7 1/2 in the high jump. That marked tied her season best from a week ago. True freshman Amanda Mergaert (Shelby Township, MI) won the 800 meter run in a new PR of 2:13.89.

Langley continues to put her run together and tweak her form. She had a couple of really good looks at 5-10 which is the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Amanda ran the anchor 1600 meter leg on our distance medley relay the night before. So to come back with a PR on Saturday was impressive. She ran that race like a veteran.

Angie Kaplar ran 8.75 twice (prelims and finals) for new lifetime bests and a runner up finish in the 60 meter hurdles. Sarah Grimm was second in the weight throw. Our sprinters all ran well in the 200 meter dash prelims with several PR's. Lauryn McKay ran a lifetime best 400 meter leg on the DMR and followed that up with a personal best in the open 400 on Saturday.

All of our young distance runners in the 3K improved by 5-12 seconds apiece. I'm really enjoying seeing different athletes step up each week and continue to improve. We're still not where we want to be as a team, but our young group has been aggressive and these performances will only help us move the program forward as a whole.

We will send 16 athletes to Seattle, WA to compete at the Husky Classic and seven others to Iowa State and the ISU Classic next weekend. We will be looking for possible NCAA and USA indoor national qualifying marks.