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The University of Utah Athletics
Track and Field Splits for Two Big Weekend Meets
2/11/2009 12:00 AM | Track & Field
Feb. 11, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's track and field team will split up this weekend for two of their biggest track meets so far this season. The distance runners, pole vaulters, and high jumpers will be competing in Ames, Iowa at the Iowa State Classic on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the team will be competing in the Washington Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. on Saturday.
"This is our biggest weekend so far. Our team is splitting up to take advantage of these two big and competitive meets, as well as two great venues," said head coach Kyle Kepler. "We have a lot of athletes on the verge of doing some really big things right now. Part of making that happen is for them to keep themselves focused as we compete against big powerhouse schools. They need to stay calmer than they usually do at other meets and just go out and do what they know they can do. This will be a great experience under high pressure to set us up for the conference meet."
FRIDAY
Freshman Klaudia Rokossa will be competing in the seeded pole vault competition at the Iowa State Classic. The Ute is coming off of a new personal best of 12' 6" that she set last week in the Mountain State Games.
Also at the Iowa State Classic, distance runner Lauren Endersen and Kellie Anderson will be competing in the 5K. They will both be competing in the first of two heats of the non-seeded run.
SATURDAY
In Iowa, Janett Ern and Carly Selleck will start off the morning session of competition in the mile run. The field events will begin next with the pole vault (unseeded) and the high jump (seeded). Laryssa Simpson will compete in the pole vault, while freshman Langley Iverson will represent Utah in the high jump. The running events will be held in the evening, featuring freshman Lucy Yates in the seeded 800-meter race.
In Washington, it will be an all-day competition running from 8:00 a.m. and the last event slotted to start at 5:15 p.m. Whitney Wellington will be competing in the 60-meter dash, while Chelsey Kaplar and Brianna LeRoy will be in the 60-meter hurdles.
Wellington will also be competing in the 200-meter dash on Saturday with teammate Haley McAllister-Birkeland. Ashley Patterson and Kaplar will be representing Utah in the 400-meter run, while Chelsea Shapard will compete in the 800-meter run after last weekend's success. McAllister-Birkeland and Brianna LeRoy will be competing in the long jump in the Husky Classic.
Three throwers will be competing this week; Chasity Toilolo will compete in both the shot put and weight throw events. Also in the weight throw will be Josefin Berg and Sarah Grimm.
LAST WEEK
McAllister-Birkeland ran a lifetime best of 7.92 in the 60 meter dash, which ranks fifth on the all-time list. Shapard lead ran the second best time in the school's history winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.67. Kaplar won the open 400-meter run with a time of 57.45, a new lifetime best that ranks sixth on the all-time list. Yates finished second in with a new personal best of 58.39.
McAllister-Birkeland won the long jump competition and Patterson achieved a surprising third place. Ashley jumped her personal best of 18' 1", which is the tenth longest jump on the all-time list. Iverson continued her winning streak by winning the high jump competition with a jump of 5' 6".
The Utah "A" Team won a very exciting 4x400-meter relay. The runners on the winning team were McAllister-Birkeland, Kaplar, Yates and Patterson.
In the weight throw, Berg took second with a toss of 54" 5.5". The best Ute in the shot put was Toilolo that placed fourth with a throw of 44' 3.5". Candus Aiello's best throw was 38' 3.5" in the shot for a new personal record.
Players Mentioned
Throws
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Throws
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Jumps
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Hurdles/Sprints
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Multiple
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Sprints
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Distance
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