Utah Track Competes at Drake Relays and Robison Invitational
University of Utah junior hurdler Brooke Martin started out of the blocks during the Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles in an NCAA Track and Field meet at the McCarthey Family Track and Field Complex in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Photo by Curtis Lin | Daily Utah Chronicle)
April 24, 2021
The Utah track and field team split up this weekend, competing in two different meets. The Drake Relays took place in Des Moines, Iowa and the Robison Invitational in Provo, Utah.
Day 1
The competition in Des Moines got off to a good start with the first race, the 4×100, where the team finished with a time of 46.72, qualifying them for the finals. The second event the Utes raced in was the 4×800 where the team placed second with a time of 8:53.26.
Down in Provo, the first event that took place was the 100m where Donna Ntambue won her heat with a time of 12.12 to go to the finals. In the 100m hurdles, Ruby Jane Mathewson came in with a time of 14.49, earning her second-fastest time and a trip to the finals. Bailey Kealamakia earned a personal record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.23. Rachel Whipple was also able to set a new PR with a time of 1:02.72. Notably, Mathewson came in with a time of 1:02.27 in the same event.
Day 2
As for the second day of competition in the Drake Relays, Utah had a great start overall. Several Utes competed in some distance events, and in the 800m, Brooke Manson came in fifth place, recording a time of 2:07.61. The 4x100m event was next, and the squad consisted of Lauren O’Banion, Jackie Martin, Maya LeBar and Kelise Davis who collectively clocked a time of 46.70. The final event was the 4×400 where the team ended up recording a time of 3:42.38.
The second day of competition in Provo began with the 800m event where freshman Annie Murdock took fourth overall with a time of 2:13.20. Emma Earl came in eighth place with a time of 2:15.77. Right behind her was Claire Rusovick who finished with a time of 2:16.88. The day then finished with the 5k event where Natalie Platil placed third, running a time of 18:30.71.
“We had a productive weekend, particularly in a variety of relay events,” said head coach Kyle Kepler in an interview with Utah Athletics. “I thought we competed well and handled a multitude of competitive situations well such as running in traffic, prelim/final racing and multiple race distances — which we will all face at the conference meet. A lot to build off of and learn from.”
Overall, this was a solid weekend of performances for the Utes. The track team will be back out competing on April 30 for the West Coast Relays in Clovis, California.
