Dustin Pimm bolstered an already impressive resume last Tuesday by qualifying for a return trip to the NCAA West Regional Golf Championships.
This is the second consecutive year Pimm has qualified for the event. Last season, the Sandy native tied for fifth at the Regional Tournament and became the first Ute to qualify for the NCAA championships as an individual.
Golf coach Randall McCracken hopes to see similar success from Pimm at this year’s Regional.
“Predictions are always hard to make, but Dustin is a fabulous player and he always does well in big tournaments,” McCracken said. “I expect him to do well.”
Pimm’s most recent success came on the heels of being named to the First-Team All-Mountain West Conference on April 28. This is the second consecutive year he has achieved such a feat and it is another reminder of why he is viewed as one of the best golfers to play for the U in recent memory.
“He’s definitely one of the best college players I have coached,” McCracken said.
Pimm’s accomplishments have not only translated into individual success, but they’ve also served as a building block for the program.
“Dustin has had a huge impact on this program; he’s brought a lot of notoriety, and a lot of guys want to play with one of the best players,” McCracken said. “He is an inspiration for this team.”
The West Regional will be hosted by Arizona State at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The competition runs May 17 to 19.
Track standout wins Mountain West Conference Heptathlon crown.
The Utes’ track and field team came home from the MWC Championships this weekend with two individual titles, thanks to Amanda Feigt’s first-place finish in the heptathlon event and Chelsea Shapard’s title in the 400-meter hurdles.
In third place when the second day of competition began, Feigt rallied to a first-place finish by tying her season best in the long jump, 19-8 1/3, and made up a 103-point difference with a 2:16.20 time in the 800-meter dash. She finished the event with 5,328 points, topping runner-up Kristin Olafsdottir of San Diego State by 108 points to win the heptathlon crown.
“It was an exciting day for us,” said U head coach Kyle Kepler. “I’m really proud of Amanda. I couldn’t be happier for someone who has done so much for this program.”
On Saturday, Shapard posted a time of 58.47 in the 400-meter hurdles, which was good enough to earn the Utes 10 points and the event title.
“I’m extremely pleased with our team’s performance this weekend,” Kepler said. “We performed at maximum capacity and I thought that we really gave a championship effort out there.”
The Utes finished sixth as a team at the four-day event with a total score of 49.50 points. BYU led the pack with 195 points.
Up next for the Utes is the NCAA Regional Meet in Eugene, Ore., May 24 to 26.