Track and Field Turns in Solid Showing at Regionals

Friday, May 25

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

University of Utah

NCAA West Regional

Track and Field Turns in Solid Showing at Regionals

5/25/2007 12:00 AM | Track & Field

May 25, 2007

EUGENE, Ore. -- University of Utah hurdlers Chelsea Shapard and Amanda Feigt led the team's solid showing at the NCAA Regionals this afternoon as both of them qualified for the finals of the 400m hurdles. The finals will be run on Saturday afternoon.

Shapard automatically qualified for the finals by winning her heat in 59.92.

While Feigt took second in her heat, she recorded the fifth-best time overall by clocking the event in 59.63. She too qualified for the finals tomorrow afternoon.

The top-five finishers from the finals automatically make it to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Those that finish in the top 12 have a chance to receive an at-large invite to the NCAA meet.

"We have four out of our five kids competing on the last day of the regional meet," said head coach Kyle Kepler. "We're excited to have that many kids competing on the final day, and we're going to come out and give it our best."

Feigt just missed qualifying for Saturday's finals in the long jump. She jumped 19-7, landing 10th overall. The top nine automatically make it to the final flight tomorrow as the 10th-place finisher edged Feigt out with a 19-7 1/2 jump. Feigt still has an outside chance to make it to the championships, as the NCAA has yet to hand out at-large bids to the big meet.

Also running this afternoon in the preliminaries of the 800m was Alyssa Abbott. The freshman, who qualified for regionals at the Mountain West Conference championships, did not make it to the finals tomorrow. She was seventh in her heat as she turned in a 2:11.26 performance. Abbott qualified for and will race in the U.S. Junior Nationals later this summer.

Shapard and Feigt will compete tomorrow afternoon on the final day of the regional meet. Also competing on the final day are Utah's two pole vaulters, Susan Atwater and Mandie Rowell.