Track & Field Has Strong Performance at Weber State Indoor International
The University of Utah and Weber State host the Spring Classic at the McCarthy track & field in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, April 6, 2018. (Photo by Kiffer Creveling | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
January 31, 2021
The Utah track and field team had a nice day competing in Ogden on Saturday. This was their second meet of the year, coming off an event last week, the Aggie Invitational against Texas A&M.
Kelise Davis, Annie Murdock, Martina Conner, Claire Rusovick and Bailey Kealamakia all made their first appearances as members of the Utes.
“Overall, like our first time out, I thought we really had some kids compete well and competed hard,” said head coach Kyle Kepler. “We had several top-five finishes and several had a few PRs in there too… It’s definitely a chance for some of our youngsters to get their first opportunity to compete. Some of them had never been at an indoor track so that’s what a meet like this is for with good competition.”
In her first race at the college level, Rusovick was very impressive. She finished third in the mile, running a 5:29.18. Emma Earl finished in sixth place in that same race with a 5:44.18.
There was an error in the 55m which forced them to redo the race. Initially, multiple Utes set PRs and all-time records, but an issue with the timing nullified all of those. When they eventually ran, for real this time, Kaya Heideman went to the finals with a 7.40, and Delaney Gates grabbed a 7.63 in her Utah debut. Heideman, a native of Salt Lake City, walked onto the team about two weeks ago as a true freshman.
Anna Busatto finished third in the 3k with a 10:46.85; Conner ran an 11:23.44 for fifth.
It was a good chance for the younger members of the team to get out and compete, some for the first time. There were a lot of freshmen out there on Saturday, and getting them some chances early in the season will be good moving forward. Utah had a strong day of competition, and they’ll look to build on it as the season continues.
Utah has an upcoming meet, the Arkansas Qualifier, in Fayetteville, Arkansas next week. The Utes will head out there on Feb. 5 to continue the season. It’s their chance to compete at the Randel Tyson Track Center, which is where the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in March.
