Track and Field to Compete at MWC Championships

2/24/2010 12:00 AM | Track & Field

Feb. 24, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah track and field team will be heading to the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., Thursday through Sunday.

The Utes currently have four athletes ranked in the top-100 in the country, according to TFRRS.org. Sophomore Lucy Yates (St. Albans, Hertsfordshire, UK) is currently ranked 27th in the country with a provisional qualifying time of 2:07.59 in the 800m run. Her time ranks fifth in the league and second in Utah school history.

Langley Iverson, a sophomore native of Reno, Nev., has a current personal best of 5-9.75 (1.77m) in the high jump, which is the second best in the league. On the national level, her clearance ranks 37th in the country.

Junior Alyssa Abbott (Reno, Nev.) currently leads the Mountain West Conference in the 3000m run with a lifetime best of 9:34.17. Her time ranks second in school history and is ranked 69th in the country.

Sarah Grimm, a senior out of Salt Lake City, leads the Ute throwers in the weight throw with a personal best of 60-0.25 (18.29m). Her toss is currently ranked 59th in the country and third all-time in Utah's school history.

Last Time Out:
The Utes had a successful weekend when they split for the Husky Invitational and Iowa State Classic on Feb. 12-13.

At the Husky Invitational, Yates set her new personal record with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:07.60 for 11th place overall in the 800m run. In the 4x400m relay, Yates teamed up with Alyssa Johnson, Ashley Mosley and Chelsey Kaplar. The Ute quartet had a combined time of 3:47.79 in the event, which placed them third overall.

Volunteer Assistant Coach Shayla Houlihan and Abbott competed in the invitational 3000m run. Houlihan finished the race in 9:23.82 for sixth place overall. Her time was a new lifetime best and also qualified her for

the USA Indoor National Meet. Abbott also set a lifetime personal best in the event with a time of 9:34.17 to earn 18th overall.

Iverson set another personal best in the high jump with a clearance of 5-9.75 (1.77m). Her height was just one centimeter from setting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Freshman Theresa Waybright set a new personal best in the pole vault after clearing a height of 12-4.0, which earned 14th place overall. Her mark ranks sixth on Utah's all-time performance list.

Amanda Mergaert, a freshman, had a time of 4:56.02 in the mile run to earn first place overall at the Iowa State Classic. Her lifetime best ranks fourth on Utah's all-time performance list. It was only her second time running that race at the collegiate level. She won the unseeded sections and was 15th in all sections combined.

Freshmen Nikki Dotter and Megan Combe also set new personal bests in the non-seeded 800m run. Dotter finished the race in 2:18.75 (33rd overall) and Combe finished in 2:21.42 (43rd overall).

Freshman Lauryn McKay competed in the non-seeded 400m dash for 23rd place overall with a time of 58.51.

A limited group of Utes also participated at the Weber State Wildcat Tune Up on Feb. 18-20.

Note on Houlihan:
Volunteer Assistant Coach Shayla Houlihan will be competing in the USA Indoor National Meet in the 3000m run on Saturday night in Albuquerque, N.M. from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. MT. The event will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Head Coach Kyle Kepler:
"From a team standpoint this is one of the three best weeks of the year. (The conference cross country and outdoor track & field meet being the others). We have a group that is ready to represent the university, their teammates, and themselves at the highest level possible. Our goal will be a top-four finish, although that will take a near perfect meet to accomplish as the league is the best it's been in my five years as the head coach here at Utah. We're not asking athletes who are ranked twelfth to win their event; we simply want them to out perform their ranking and battle for every point they can get. This meet is about beating people more than it is about running, jumping, and throwing personal bests. Sometimes that's what it takes, but ultimately it's about performing at a high enough level to beat as many people as possible.

"If we compete hard and focus on the things that we can control then we will give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve our team and individual goals. This meet is about perseverance and competing hard every step, every jump, and every throw. Every team will have something unexpected happen---good and not so good. It's the nature of a conference meet. We have prepared our team to be mentally tough, keep an even mindset throughout the event, and they expect to perform well. Avoiding huge psychological swings is really critical to performing at a high level in this type of meet. Being confident in yourself and doing what you know how to do without over thinking or over trying are critical. Rely on what you've done and learned throughout the season, don't try too hard, relax, and have fun are other huge keys to performing well. If we can stay calm and focus on the process of competing rather than the outcome we will perform to our capabilities."