Track and Field Finishes Fourth in MWC Championship

Saturday, February 28

Colorado Springs, Colo.

TBA

University of Utah

MWC Championships

Track and Field Finishes Fourth in MWC Championship

2/28/2009 12:00 AM | Track & Field

Feb. 28, 2009

Results

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - The University of Utah track and field team wrapped up competition at the Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday afternoon with 59 points to earn fourth-place overall in the league. The Utes were just shy of two points to earn third-place. Utah had four top-five finishes, and a total of nine top-ten finishes across seven events.

"I am very proud of my team and our coaching staff. To go from seventh last year to fourth this year (and in a battle for third all day) is a testament to all the hard work everyone involved with our program has put forth in that time," said head coach Kyle Kepler. "They have learned how to fight through difficult days and the extra pressure that comes with these championship meets. That's a credit to them for learning and growing and a testament to our administration and staff that provides us with these opportunities to grow this program and represent the university in a first class manner."

Chelsea Shapard and Lucy Yates competed in the 800-meter finals with the other seven finalists from BYU (4), New Mexico (2) and Air Force (1). The Utes were running a strong race at the start, but tripped with a lap to go, hindering them from the finishes they were looking for. Shapard finished third with a time of 2:11.82 while Yates came in seventh-place with a time of 2:15.85.

Shapard went on to run the last leg of the 4x400 relay with Ashley Patterson, Chelsey Kaplar, and Whitney Wellington. The relay team really pushed themselves in the race to finish with second-place overall and a time of 3:49.22.

In the high jump, both Langley Iverson and Brianna LeRoy finished in the top-five in the league. Iverson, who has dominated competition throughout the indoor season, hit a 5'7" height for fourth-place. LeRoy also had a good effort in the event, reaching a 5'5" height for a three-way tie for fifth place. Ashley Payne and Mindy Neeley of BYU shared the spot with LeRoy.

Lauren Endersen and Kellie Anderson, fresh off of stellar runs in the 5,000-meter Friday, competed in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday. Endersen started out a little rough in the race after tripping and falling in the first few laps. She fought through the adversity and caught back up to the pack. She spent the majority of the race in 11th-place, but in the last 400 meters, she passed three runners to take eighth-place overall. Endersen ran a lifetime best of 10:01.57 and scored a team point for Utah. Anderson came in 16th-place in the pack with a time of 10:48.62.

Patterson went up against tough competition in the triple jump event, giving tremendous efforts with each jump she took. She finished eighth in the league with a distance of 38'0.75".

Kaplar fought hard on Saturday in the 400-meter finals, after starting the race with a stumble. She worked her way up to finish eighth overall with a time of 61.55.

Chasity Toilolo put up another great effort for Utah in the shot put. The Ute had two solid throws, for a marked distance of 43'4.25" to land her 10th-place overall. The next best thrower was Hillary Fraser of Colorado State with a toss of 42'8.25".

"We had some great things happen today. We just needed one or two more. But our effort was tremendous. Utah track and field took some big steps forward this weekend and our kids should be very proud," said Kepler. "I told the gals not to look at their individual performances knowing that we were two points short of third-place as a team. It's not about taking or looking for blame, but learning from being on the doorstep. Learning how to stay out of trouble in races and not trying too hard are the lessons they must continue to improve upon. Track is simple. It's about being confident in your training and your skills and staying relaxed enough to use them in an optimal manner while under stress. We're improving as a team, but still have plenty of room for improvement in this area."