Track and Field 2010 Outlook

11/19/2009 12:00 AM | Track & Field

Nov. 19, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY - Last year was one of the most productive years to come from the University of Utah women's track and field team. Under the direction of Kyle Kepler, now in his fifth year as head coach, the Utes finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, and fifth at the Outdoor Conference Championships. Utah went on to have ten athletes qualify for the NCAA West Regional Championships, with two continuing to nationals.

"I couldn't be happier with the success of last year's team," said Kepler. "It took four years to have the best year in both cross country and track and field since we entered the Mountain West Conference."

After losing many athletes to graduation, the Utes find themselves a much younger team. The team is comprised of five seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores, and 20 freshmen. The new squad members are evenly distributed across the events, allowing them to add depth to the competition and learn from their more experienced teammates.

"Our theme this year is `Every Day Counts.' We will improve each day and be patient to make sure our kids learn everything the proper way. We just have to be patient," said Kepler. "We lost a lot of really good athletes to graduation last year, but we've done an exceptional job to find talent in our new underclassmen. We have 20 new freshmen this year, and they all love being Utes and can't wait to get their jerseys on to compete."

Distance
The distance group will feature a lot of new faces this year, but will be highlighted by the return of junior Alyssa Abbott. She was last seen in the 2008 cross country season where she finished her season at the NCAA Cross Country Championship (6-kilometer). She placed 76th overall out of 255 athletes with a time of 21:00.5, missing all-American status by just 19 seconds. After battling an IT band injury in 2008, Abbott red-shirted the entire 2009 track and field season and 2009 cross country season.

"Alyssa is one of the premier distance runners in the conference as a three-time regional qualifier and NCAA contender," said Kepler. "We are excited to have her back in the mix and leading our young group."

Sophomore Lucy Yates is also expected to have a large impact on the success of the distance group. Over the summer Yates competed in the Aviva England Athletics Under-20 Championships, where she registered a time of 2:08.71 in the final heat of the 800-meter to earn fourth-place. Early in the week she had also set a new lifetime best of 2:07.33.

The freshmen added to the mix will include Amanda Mergaert, Jenny McCune, Megan Combe, and McKenzie Dean.

Vertical Jumps
The Utes return MWC High Jump Champion Langley Iverson. Last year she cleared a height of 5-8.75 for the conference title, a new personal record, and qualification for the regional meet. She also went on to compete at the USATF Junior Championships.

"Langley has looked superb in fall practice," said Kepler. "We will continue her development as an athlete. She has set big goals this year and we anticipate another regional qualifying mark and a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships."

Sophomore Brianna LeRoy will be the only Ute to compete in the multi event and long jumps for Utah this season. Last year LeRoy finished fifth at the indoor conference championships in the high jump with a mark of 5-5.

"Brianna had a great indoor season last year, but was pretty riddled with injuries during the outdoor season," said Kepler. "We are trying to get back to where we were and capitalize on her strengths."

Sophomore Klaudia Rokossa and senior Laryssa Simpson will be the top returners for Utah in the pole vault this season.

"Klaudia is our top returner as a regional qualifier last year," said Kepler. "Laryssa is recovering from a back injury so will have to red-shirt for the indoor season. They are both tremendous assets to our team."

Freshman Theresa Waybright will also be adding depth to the pole vault this year. She is a two-time Idaho State Champion and a Junior Olympic All-American from Boise, Idaho.

Sprints
Associate head coach Burke Bockman will be coaching the sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers. Leading the Utes on the track will be seniors Whitney Wellington and Chelsey Kaplar. Kepler feels good about their development. Last year the two Utes joined Ashley Patterson and Chelsea Shapard in the 4x400-meter relay at the outdoor conference championships where they broke the school record with a time of 3:38.96, which also qualified them for the NCAA regional meet.

The Utes have three other promising sprinters adding to Utah's depth: Alyssa Johnson, Natalie Young, and Lauren McKay. Johnson is a decorated athlete from Winnipeg, M.B., Canada. In 2007, Johnson won the gold medal in the women's 400-meter run at the Western Canada Summer Games and also represented Canada at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. More recently in 2008, Johnson was a semi-finalist in the 400-meter run at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Poland and a fourth-place finisher at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

"Alyssa is one of Canada's top junior level sprinters. She has a wealth of experience and success at the international and national levels," said Kepler. "We expect her to make an immediate impact in the long sprint events for our program."

Young will join the team after finishing the 2009 soccer season with the University of Utah. McKay has looked solid in fall practices.

Hurdles
C. Kaplar returns after being an NCAA regional qualifier last year in the 400-meter hurdles. She will be joined by her sister Angie Kaplar this year; however, A. Kaplar will primarily be competing in the short hurdles along with fellow underclassman Delaney Fox. Freshman Stephanie Muelleck will compete in the long hurdles.

"This is a young group, but we will also look for Brianna LeRoy to step in and provide depth. Angie is a currently a Utah high school record holder in the short hurdles. Delaney has been looking good in fall practice," said Kepler.

Throws
The throwers will be coached by Tapio Kuusela, entering his ninth season at Utah. Senior Sarah Grimm returns to the squad after being an NCAA regional and national qualifier. At nationals she placed 13th overall with a mark of 187-8 in the hammer throw.

"We will be looking for a lot of big things to come from Sarah this year," said Kepler. "She made a tremendous impact last year and her goal is to be an all-American."

Two freshmen are expected to be solid contributors this season. Nikkie Rudder placed third in the 2009 Class 4A Idaho State Championships with a toss of 41-9.5. Her best marks to date are 42-3 in the shot put and 124-0 in the discus.

Anneli Stahl joins the Utes after being ranked third in the hammer throw for juniors under 19-years old in Sweden. At the Swedish Junior Championships in 2008, she placed third in the hammer throw.

Breanna Freestone was seventh at the MWC Championships in the javelin for the Utes. Candus Aiello will be redshirting during both indoor and outdoor seasons.

Also look for contributions from Kastin Frostl and Amanda Pais.