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.
No comments:
Post a Comment