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The University of Utah Athletics
Cross Country Prepares for MWC Championships
10/29/2009 12:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY - After taking a weekend to rest from competition, the University of Utah women's cross country team heads into the Mountain West Conference Championships hosted by BYU on Saturday. The women's 6-kilometer race is slotted for 11:00 a.m. MT at the Cascade Golf Course in Orem, Utah.
LAST IN ACTION
The Utes have had a week to rejuvenate after running the first 6-kilometer of the season at the Chile Pepper Invitational on Oct. 17, 2009. The team placed 13th out of 37 teams, paced by freshman Amanda Mergaert.
Mergaert crossed the line 32nd out of 217 runners with a finish time of 22:07.47, which is currently the 15th fastest time in the conference. Freshman Jenny McCune was another leading scorer for Utah, executing a 62nd-place finish with a time of 22:46.95.
Redshirt-freshman Lucy Yates and freshman Megan Combe placed in the top 100 finishers. Yates stepped up to finish the course in 23:18.76 for 95th-place overall, while Combe finished in 23:19.73 for 98th-place overall. Senior Sydney Osmun rounded out the top-five finishers for Utah, placing 102nd overall with a time of 23:22.76.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH Kyle Kepler
"This will undoubtedly be our biggest test of the year so far. I feel good about where we are and the progress we have made leading up to the championships. We were picked to finish fifth in the pre-championship coaches poll and we will be aiming to finish higher than that. We are excited to be able to run so close to home, especially with such a young team. It's a conference meet which simply means its going to be a battle for every position; both team and individually. We hope as many Utah supporters as possible will come down and cheer on our team."
2008 MWC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Utes obtained a third-place finish at the conference meet, which was their highest finish since 2004 when they placed fourth in the conference. The Utes tallied 1:51:00 and 77 points to place them third in the league. New Mexico placed first with 31 points and BYU came in second-place with 33 points.
Alyssa Abott battled through her IT band injury to lead the Utes on the course. She finished fourth-place overall with a time of 21:37, earning first team all-conference honors. Chelsea DiGrazia placed 13th overall with a time of 22:01 to earn second team all-conference honors.
Janett Ern came in third for the Utah and 18th overall with a time of 22:22. Lauren Endersen finished close behind with a time of 22:27 to earn 20th-place overall. Kellie Anderson rounded out the top-five finisher for Utah, placeing 22nd overall with a time of 22:33.
Players Mentioned
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
Distance/CC
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