Typically there’s no place like home, but being on nearby turf didn’t do a whole lot to help the Utes’ cross country team at the Utah Open last weekend at Murray Park.
The Utes were edged out of second place by Weber State. Boise State won the event with 23 points.
“We had a few good performances that were OK, and a few that didn’t finish that well,” said Utah head coach Kyle Kepler. “To be honest, I was a little disappointed and so were they. They knew it, and we know we have things we need to work on.”
One of the things Kepler and the team will focus on moving forward is competing in groups.
“We didn’t run well collectively as a group,” Kepler said. “They needed to do a better job of helping each other out. Competing in packs is something we need to work on in the next couple of weeks.”
It was easy for Kepler to spot what needs to change as he watched the race, but his runners are on the same page when it comes to improving.
“We were a little disappointed that we were spread out,” said Susannah Hurst. “We need to work together during races as a pack and be strong that way.”
Hurst led the way for the Utes with a fourth place overall finish. Although her fellow teammates were not up front with her, Hurst ran with the lead pack for most of the race.
“I felt really good for the first 3K,” Hurst said. “I just didn’t have a strong kick. I didn’t battle it out until the end.”
The next four Utah runners finished in consecutive places. Becky Sarmiento, Nicole Rietz, Andrea Chavez and Lauren Mills finished in 15th-18th places respectively.
Along with competing in groups, finishing races is something else the team is hoping to improve on in the next couple of races.
“We are getting out and putting ourselves into the race, but we can’t finish,” Kepler said. “We need to be tougher, and that is more mental than physical. Our team has put in the work all summer, they just need to be mentally stronger.”
The Utes have a little less than two weeks to work on some of these things, as they don’t compete again until Sept. 21 at the Montana State Bobcat Invitational in Bozeman, Mont.
Utah is hoping to repeat its performance from last year at the event, as the Utes won the overall team title and beat the other teams in dual scoring.
“We have always had success at this meet, and we are hoping to have that same success this time around,” Kepler said. “We would really like to achieve victory again. Last year, we really put things together in this race and we hope to relive that again this year.”
While the team has gradually been getting to full strength the first two weeks of the season, the whole team is looking to compete in Montana.
“We will be at full strength,” Kepler said. “Everybody is healthy and we will find out what we really have.”