March 4th Pressor

The 2013 indoor season will come to an end this weekend at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, AR.  For the second time in three years we have a qualifier at "the hardest NCAA championship to qualify for."  In no other sport do they take as few qualifiers (by percentage of total participants) as they do for indoor track.  Only the top 16 individuals and top 12 relays make it to the NCAA indoor meet.  That is less than 5% of the total athletes who actually qualify for the NCAA championships.

For all of her accomplishments (Cross Country All American, 3x NCAA XC qualifier, 2x Second Team All American, 6x NCAA outdoor qualifier) this will be senior, Amanda Mergaert first trip to the NCAA indoor championships.  She will compete in the mile for the final time as a Ute this weekend.  Fridays semi finals will begin at 5:30pm (CST) and the finals on Saturday will be held at 6:00pm (CST).

The last three years have seen our distance medley relay just miss.  Our time last year would have put us in this years meet.  She missed qualifying in the mile by less than a half second a year ago.  So to finally kick down the door as a senior is an opportunity I know she is greatly looking forward to.

Below is this weeks press conference (in three parts) outlining what lies ahead for Amanda.  Be sure to wish her good luck on our team facebook page (Search University of Utah Track & Field).  The rest of our team will use the next two weeks to prepare for the outdoor season which will begin on March 15-16 at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, CA.