As Real As It Gets!

The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke in our arena today as part our MLK Jr celebration this week.  Very powerful message from someone who has spent his entire life promoting civil rights and diversity.  His interaction with the crowd was very real and his thoughts profound.  If you get an opportunity to hear him speak I highly suggest you take advantage of it. 

Route 66

After two solid opening meets (throwers at Provo and sprints/hurdles/jumps at Boise) we will head to Albuquerque, NM for our first meet with a full roster of events.  The distance runners will begin their season this weekend by joining the rest of our team for the New Mexico Collegiate meet.

Last weekend in Boise we had one event winner and several other top three finishes.  Senior Cyndi Sanchez won the weight throw on the final throw of the competition.  Sophomore Ali Eisenbeiss was second in the 400 meters.  High jumpers Kailey Hansen and Langley Iverson (returning after redshirting the 2012 season) went 2-3 to highlight some of the efforts.  

Overall, we had a solid opening meet.  We have plenty of room for improvement which is what you hope for at the beginning of the year.  We'll go to New Mexico this weekend and continue to work to get better.  Right now we need races and competitions as much or more than we need practice.  The girls are hungry and excited.  Competition begins on Friday afternoon and continues through Saturday. Be sure to check back for results and pictures.

Our throwers opened the 2013 indoor season in style by winning both throwing events and placing several individuals in the top ten.  I have included Coach Kuusela's full wrap up below for your reading pleasure.  Enjoy!
 

Utah Throwers Dominate at BYU Invitational

Utes claim top three spots in the shot put

Provo, UTAH (TK) -  Competing at the BYU Invitational, the University of Utah women throwers dominated the field on Saturday.

The Utes recorded an impressive performance in the weight throw with six athletes qualifying for the finals. Capturing the event title was senior Anneli Stahl posting a mark of 60-6. Cynthia Sanchez finished third overall with a throw of 55-6.25.

Making her Utah debut was Aoife Hickey finishing in fourth with a throw of  54-6.  Destanae Howerton-Davis (48-11) and freshman Sosina Salima (45-4.5) finished seventh and ninth, respectively for the Utes. Competing unattached was Nikkie Rudder finishing fifth with a mark of 52-5.5.

In the shot put the Utes had five athletes qualify for the finals including three earning the top three spots. Rudder competing unattached, won the event with a mark of 47-10. Candus Ford finished second place with a throw of 46-4.25, followed by Howeton-Davis in third place posting a mark of 46-3.

Returning from a recent arm injury, Alanna Nulph showcased an impressive return, earning fifth place with a throw of 42-1.5.  In her first collegiate meet, Salima finished seventh with a throw of 40-3.5.

Due to poor weather conditions, the Utah sprints, hurdles, jumps and distance athletes did not compete at the Snake River Open, but will head to the Bronco Invitational in Nampa, Idaho on January 19.

 

Let's Get It Started...

Happy New Year!  I know it's been a while since my last post, but we all need some time away during the holidays.  We ended the Fall semester well and have begun the Spring semester on a high note as well.  Besides the first few days of practices and classes being full in energy we also received good news that our team GPA for the Fall semester was well over 3.30.  I also included a picture of the letter we received from The Haven which is a local organization that works closely with groups like the United Way to provide assistance to families and individuals who are in great need.  As part of our community service efforts our team was able to raise some funds in order to provide some toys as Christmas gives to some very deserving young children. 

The throwers (BYU Invite) and the sprinters/hurdlers (Snake River Invite) will open the 2013 indoor season for our team this weekend.  Both groups had excellent Fall training periods and have come back after the holiday break looking good in workouts thus far.  They are excited to compete for the first time and find out where they are at.  The rest of team will not open up until Jan 25-26 at the New Mexico Invite.  This is by design based on their training needs.  Choose your favorite option(s) and be sure to follow us all season long.

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C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-I-O-N!!!

....It's time party and have a good time....

University of Utah history was made today by Senior Amanda Mergaert.  Watch the video to find out what she did!  I'm incredibly proud of her.  What a senior season!  Enjoy!

NCAA Press Conf Pt1

Click HERE to watch the 2012 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships live on line on Saturday, November 17th.  The live stream will begin a few minutes prior to the start of the women's race (12pm EST).

Back to Back to Back

It was a "Red Letter" day for our women's cross country team.  For the first time in program history we beat our rivals from BYU and finished sixth overall.  Leading the charge as she has for the last three years was senior Amanda Mergaert.  She's been a "big moment" runner throughout her career and nothing changed as she breezed to a fourth place finish (her third consecutive top ten Regional meet finish).  The goal was to qualify for her third consecutive NCAA Championship meet using as little energy (mental or physical) as possible and she did that.  Running with the top group the entire way, Amanda looked relaxed and cool as she met her goal for this race.  As a coach it's hard to ask for much more.

Sophomore newcomer Giselle Slotboom had the best race of her young career finishing 12th overall and claim All Region honors for the second consecutive year.  (She was all Region in the South Region a year ago as a member of the Jacksonville State team).  She broke 21:00 (20:57) for the first time ever over the 6K distance.

Sophomore Susannah Hurst just missed all Region honors with a 29th place finish.  She had rough go of it at this meet as a freshman, so for her to respond this year and just miss the top 25 was a great effort.  Another sophomore, Nikki Rietz, had the best race of her career to finish as our fourth runner.  Not far behind Rietz was freshman, Andrea Chavez, closed out our scoring runners.  Soph's Kate Stringfellow and Lauren Mills also competed and ran hard.

Overall, I was very pleased.  Certainly, beating our rivals from down south for the first time was fun.  We have a great deal of respect for them and what they have accomplished in the past.  However, our girls have worked extremely hard over the last eight years to continue to move our program forward towards national prominence and this is simply another step in that goal.

Amanda will compete in her third straight NCAA cross country championships this Saturday in Louisville, KY.  She ran very well (despite running with a cold) on this course a month ago at the Pre National meet.  Feel free to go to our facebook page and wish her good luck.  Facebook...Search: University of Utah Track & Field.