The Utah cross country team will head to Fort Collins, Colo., Saturday for the NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
The team is having one of its best seasons, as Utah has a No. 5 ranking in the Mountain Region. The Utes will put their ranking to the test against tough programs such as Texas Tech, New Mexico and Utah State in the 6-kilometer race.
“We want to use the momentum of our performance at the conference meet and try to finish on as high of a note as we can for one of the best seasons in Utah women’s cross country history,” said head coach Kyle Kepler of the upcoming event.
The Utes would like to improve on last year’s performance in the Mountain Region Championship, as Utah finished No. 11 out of the 17 teams that competed. Three of the Utes’ top five finishers from last year’s event will be back to lead the Utes this season.
Of the three runners, Alyssa Abbott finished first for the Utes last season and will be looking to improve on her finishing time of 21:41.3.
Of the remaining six runners competing this year, Chelsea DiGrazia, Lauren Endersen and Janett Ern will be expected to bring in the majority of the Utes’ overall points in the meet. All three runners, along with Abbott, have been the backbone for this team all season.
“This group is extremely focused and understands that it will take their best race of the year to finish where we want to finish,” Kepler said. “We are proud of our No. 5 regional ranking but know that we have to prove it at this race by trying to (outrace) some outstanding teams with great traditions.”
The NCAA Mountain Region Championships will be Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo., at Collindale Golf Course. The 6K race will begin at 11 a.m.
James Boehly