Pac-12 Review

On a very warm day just west of Phoenix we competed in the first ever Pac-12 championships. It was the first championship event for any sport at the University of Utah. It was a great atmosphere and I thought our team responded well to the new challenge. We finished where we were ranked going in (8th). However, we ended up only 18 points behind #16 ranked Cal and well in front of the last four teams. Amanda Mergaert became the first ever all-Pac 12 athlete in any sport for the U of Utah. She was followed by senior Alyssa Abbott who was 24th overall. True freshman Susannah Hurst was 44th. Sophomore Rebekah Winterton (58th) and junior Hilary Troutner (80th) rounded out the scoring five. All but Mergaert set new PR's. However, Mergaert passed eight runners in the last K to garner all conference honors. She had opened near the lead for the first half of the race. After falling back in from the lead following a huge surge she was able to regather herself for the strong finish.

Overall, I was pleased with how well we fought for the entire 6K distance in what was easily the best competition of the year for us. Our younger runners went out as fast as they have all year and still found themselves at the end of pack over the first mile. However, they slowly chipped away at those runners who went out too fast and were able to get us back in the race as a team. It was also satisfying to see a senior who came back specifically to continue to help this program grow and transition into the Pac-12 be able to have a successful race. Alyssa has competed at this level since her first day on campus so it was especially gratifying to see her compete as a Pac-12 athlete and set a new PR as well.

If you missed my pre-race interview with Flotrack you can click HERE to view it.

The pictures attached are compliments of Bruce Fain who is the father of sophomore AuraLea Fain who was our eighth runner.

Chillin' on a Dirt Road

Another week in SLC and another great concert. Jason Aldean played in front of a sold out crowd which included myself. My seats weren't quite as good as my Foo Fights tickets last week, but they were solid.

Press Row

Coach Kepler's Press Conference following the Chile Pepper Invite (Oct 15th).

How Do You Like Your Chile?

Top Photo: Amanda and Alyssa get out in stride with the leaders at Chile Pepper
Bottom Photo: Chile Pepper is truly a festival and provides a great atmosphere for the runners and spectators alike.

After a weekend off we hit the road to compete in our final regular season meet at the University of Arkansas. The Chile Pepper Invitational featured 35 teams from all over the country. We were able to take 7th which was a solid performance. Amanda finished 4th again in a new PR of 20:19 for 6K. Alyssa ran 20:59 for 17th. Rebekah (21:48) and Susannah (22:06) were 47th and 63rd. Nikki Rietz rounded out our top five in 105th (22:41). There were 296 runners in the field so our top five being in the first third was good. We still have some work to get done before we compete in the first ever Pac-12 championship meet. Six of the 12 teams are currently ranked in the top 20 in the country. So we have a big task ahead of us, but our group is confident that they will race and compete well in the best conference in the country. We know that this meet will help us prepare for the NCAA Regional meet two weeks later. Championship time is here. It's time to sharpen up and race at our highest level of the year over the next five weeks!

Rockin' in SLC

Here is another example of a great concert in SLC. Last night I saw the Foo Fighters. I could almost guarantee you've heard their songs ("My Hero", "Everlong", "Times Like These", "The Best of Me", etc.) They have been together for over 16 years. Lead singer Dave Grohl was the drummer for the 80's grunge band "Nirvana". Here are some pics and video from the concert...yes I had very good seats:)

Track GameDay

Track and Field practice has been underway for a few weeks now so I thought I would give you a taste of what they have been up to. Under the direction of throws coach, Tapio Kuusela, the throwers have looked very good early this Fall. Today was primarily a hammer and shot practice day. Meanwhile, associate head coach, Burke Bockman, has the sprinters, hurdlers, and jumps going through Fall condition. Fridays are typically a game day. It breaks up the minotiny of training and provides an outlet of competition nearly every week. Several of our young women played other sports during the fall and winter seasons in high school. They are used to competing and Friday GameDay provides an opportunity to sharpen the competitive edge that they would not otherwise get. Enjoy.

Living Right in Vegas

A smooth trip and a terrific team race at the UNLV Desert Invite was our reward for a very good week of practice. We ran without three of our top four runners in an effort to give some of our younger runners a chance to step up in a leadership role. Several of them responded well which will help us as we prepare to enter the championship part of our schedule in October. We won the meet by placing eight runners in the top 20 (2-5-8-11-12-14-17-20). Our 1-5 spread was exactly a minute which we would like to improve with that group.

Hurst, Troutner, Nielson, Rietz, Stringfellow, Mills, Fain, and Yates were the eight. That is FR, JR, FR, FR, FR, FR, SO, and JR.

We will be competing next at the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas on Oct 15th. We anticipate being back at full strength the rest of the way. Check back for some pics and video from practice this week.