Mergaert wins the Region, qualifies for the Nationals
School record in the 1500 meters now 4:16.57
The Utah track team completed the West Region Championships by qualifying one person to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Amanda Mergaert ran the new school record in the 1500 Meter race finishing in a time of 4:16.57, which broke the previous record by three seconds and her previous personal record by more than five seconds. Mergaert's effort earned her first place in the event as well as the top qualifying time overall from both regionals for the NCAA Championships.
In her final race as a Ute, senior Alyssa Abbott competed in the 1500 Meter finals. She was betrayed by some bad luck as another runner fell in front of her as she was about to make a big move down the backstretch. Momentum was lost and she was unable to qualify for Des Moines with Amanda.
Brianna LeRoy led the way for the Utes in the High Jump with a jump of 5’7”, which earned her 16th place while Langley Iverson finished 24th overall clearing the mark of 5’5”. Two days earlier LeRoy had hit the second best mark of her career with a 19’4” in the Long Jump taking the 21st place.
Angela Kaplar was 42nd in the 100 Meter Hurdles with a time of 14.24. Anneli Ståhl threw 175’0” in the hammer and placed 34th . In the 800m, Lucy Yates ran a in a slow, tactical race and posted a time of 2:09.39 which earned her 4th place in her heat, but only the top three advanced to the next round.
It was a week of near misses which was bittersweet, but all of our gals competed hard and learned a lot. Only one of them graduates so we look forward to our first year in the Pac-12 with the other six leading the charge.
Next up for the Utes is the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the Drake University in Iowa on June 8-11, where Amanda Mergaert represents the team in the 1500 Meter race. Look for more details in a future post.
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