Cross Country Wraps Up Season Opener at Utah State

Saturday, September 5

Logan, Utah

TBA

University of Utah

Utah State Open

Cross Country Wraps Up Season Opener at Utah State

9/5/2009 12:00 AM | Cross Country

Sept. 5, 2009

Final Stats

LOGAN, UTAH - The University of Utah women's cross country team got the first race of the season under their belts on Saturday with the Utah State Open. Freshman Jenny McCune of Sandy, Utah, led the Utes in the three-mile course with a time of 17:56.8 and 11th place overall. The Utes finished in third place with an elapsed time of 1:31:12.9 for 74 points.

McCune and freshman Amanda Mergaert ran toe-to-toe on Saturday; Mergaert finished in 13th place overall with a time of 17:59.8. Sophomore Carly Selleck pushed herself to come around in the last mile to finish the course in 18:13.5 for a 16th place overall finish.

Newcomers Kacee Hildebrandt and Megan Combe rounded out the top five times for the Utes finishing 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Hildebrandt, a sophomore transfer from Paradise Community College, finished the course in 18:31.0. Combe, a freshman battling back from a foot injury, finished close behind with a time of 18:31.7.

Head Coach Kyle Kepler:
"Our top two ran about as quick as Chelsea DiGrazia ran to win it last year (17:57.2). It was a competitive race and I'm happy with the effort we gave. We had a lot of unknowns today, as most of the runners had not run this course before. We haven't done any interval or race specific training yet, so we'll be making that transition this coming week.

"I wanted to make sure we didn't go out too strong, and they truly listened to me. When they came around in the second mile it was a little too late, and I take the responsibility for that. We needed to be more aggressive in the first mile. We live and learn with a young group. We were in a learning boat today and with more running and training we will continue to get better. We will be making adjustments and today was about figuring out where were going with our training.

"Megan [Combe] gave a good effort today, especially with the limited training she has been able to because of her foot.

"The score is ugly, but it is what happened last year and we finished ahead of them [Utah State and Weber State] at the end of the year. We'll continue to work and make sure we do things the right way and build our program the right way."

Utah State - 22 pts.    Top 5 Times: 1:27:36.6Weber State - 34 pts.    Top 5 Times: 1:32:12.9Utah - 74 pts.    Top 5 Times: 1:31:12.9
Utah State Open Finishes (Utah only)

Finish  Runner      Time    Pace    Yr.11  Jenny McCune   17:56.8 5:48/M  Fr.13  Amanda Mergaert 17:59.8 5:49/M  Fr.16  Carly Selleck 18:13.5 5:54/M  So.22  Kacee Hildebrandt 18:31.0 6:00/M  So.23  Megan Combe 18:31.7 6:00/M  Fr.27  Alexis Davis    18:44.8 6:08/M  So.29  Rachel Schmalzle   18:50.1 6:06/M  Fr.34  Chantel Hunt   19:22.1     6:16/M  Fr.35  Sydney Osmun   19:28.1 6:18/M  Sr.36  Hilary Troutner 19:35.8 6:20/M  Fr.46  Brooke Casagranda 21:06.7 6:50/M  So.