After a third-place finish at the Colorado State Open, the Utah cross country team will head to Bozeman, Mont., for the Montana State Invitational.
Like the Colorado State Open, this week’s meet will include numerous opponents. Montana State, Montana, Weber State, Utah State, Wyoming and Utah Valley will all be competing against the Utes.
“We have had a great week of practice,” head coach Kyle Kepler said. “I expect us to race better against a deeper field of Division 1 teams.”
After sitting out last week’s meet, Chelsea DiGrazia will run her first competitive race since her first-place finish at the Utah State Open.
Lauren Endersen, who finished 13th last week, will not be racing this week in an attempt to heal a strained foot. The Utes will also be without Alyssa Abbott, who is not expected to race until the Stanford Invitational.
“We still will not be racing at full strength until our next race,” Kepler said. “But that continues to allow our younger runners an opportunity to step up.”
Last week’s notable runners were Carly Selleck, who finished 18th in last week’s 5K with a time of 20 minutes 19.6 seconds, and Janett Ern, who came in 20th with a time of 20:21.2. Freshman Rachel Perkins also finished strong at 23rd in only her second collegiate race. Her finishing time was 20:27.4.
The Montana State Invitational will be a three-mile race at Bridger Creek Golf Course this Saturday at 9:45 a.m.