The University of Utah track and field team sent several athletes to the Washington State University Invitational on Feb. 4-5. The athletes competed in the 60m hurdles, as well as the 60m, 200m and 400m dash. Utah also competed in the 800m, 200m, 3,000m and 4x400m relay events. 

On the first day of the invitational, Makenna McCloy won her heat in the 200m event where she had a time of 25.84, a new PR for McCloy. Taylor Watson also competed in the event and ran a time of 26.03, a new season-high. Megan Rose competed as well with a time of  26.52. Rachel Whipple competed in the indoor event for the first time and posted a time of 26.84. 

The second day of the invitational was solid as many Utah athletes set new PRs and school records. Ruby Jane Mathewson competed in the 60m hurdles event where she PRed with a time of 8.99. Maya LaBar kept things going as she recorded a time of 7.75 in the 60m dash, placing her 16th overall. Karli Branch competed in her second collegiate event and participated in the mile event where she posted a time of 5:07.10. 

In the 400m dash, Kelsie Davis and Bailey Kealamakia both competed and posted times of  58.53 and 58.69. These times put both athletes in the top 15 overall. Whipple posted a time of 58.94 where she got 17th overall. 

In the 800m event, Jasie York posted a time of 2:14.54, while Emma Earl posted a time of 2:20.20. In the 200m dash event, Josefine Eriksen set another school record with the sixth-fastest time of 24.24. Delany Gates participated in the long jump and earned a new PR of 5.10m on her second attempt. 

The last event of the invitation was the 4×400 relay. The team consisted of Morgan Jensen, LeBar, York, and Erikson. They posted a time of 3:47.50. 

The Utah track and field team had a successful weekend but will hit the road again next week, as they travel to the University of New Mexico and to the University of Washington for more invitational competitions on Feb. 11-12.

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@DushEmily