Utah Track & Field Finish Successful Regular Season
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 | Daily Utah Chronicle)
May 8, 2021
The University of Utah track and field team wrapped up another eventful week, participating in three meets. Utah competed at the Weber State Twilight in Ogden, Utah, the Oregon Twilight in Eugene, Ore., and the Portland Twilight in Portland, Ore.
Utah had a nice week out at the three meets, grabbing some victories in various events. On Monday, May 3 in Ogden, freshman Annie Murdock won the 400-meter dash. That was the first event victory in her career. Jasie York, another freshman, won the 800-meter race to get her first career event victory as well. Junior Ruby Jane Mathewson got second place in her heat in the 400-meter hurdles; sophomore Rachel Whipple took third.
In Eugene on Friday, sophomore Brooklyn James grabbed first place in her heat in the 800-meter. York came in third in that heat, beating her personal best, which she set on Monday. Junior Whitney Hessler was the fastest Ute in that race on the day, grabbing a time of 2:09.74 in the second heat. Sophomore Maya LeBar and freshman Kelise Davis finished first and second respectively in the 200-meter dash; Davis grabbed a new personal best time in the process.
The following day, the team traveled up the road to Portland for another meet. Freshman Bailey Kealamakia set a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday, winning the event in the process. Murdock set her personal best in the 800-meter shortly afterward. The two freshmen each had a nice day out in Portland.
The Utes will now return to Salt Lake City with the regular season complete. They are set to compete at the Pac-12 Championships next weekend starting Friday, May 14 in Los Angeles, Calif. With the regular season over, they are competing well at the right time. Utah has a chance to put together some special performances next weekend at the Championships, and then it’s off to the NCAA Regionals, kicking off on May 27.
Utah is a talented team with a lot of young runners getting their feet under them. It’s been a long regular season, and the team has vastly improved since the start of the year, particularly the young runners. Getting some individual victories recently has the confidence of the freshmen high, and that’s good news heading into postseason play.
