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Utah Track and Field Begins Outdoor Season this Weekend
3/23/2011 12:00 AM | Track & Field
March 23, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY- The University of Utah women's track and field team will get the 2011 outdoor season underway this weekend at the Arizona State and Stanford Invitationals. The ASU Invitational is scheduled to begin Friday at 10 a.m. MST, and will be held at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The distance runners will begin competing at the Stanford Invitational on Friday at 9 a.m. PDT, which will be held at Cobb Track in Palo Alto, Calif.
"I expect us to compete at a high level and adapt to the bigger track," said Utah head coach Kyle Kepler. "It changes the strategy in a few races; however it ultimately comes down to competing hard and being positive."
The vertical jumps will feature Langley Iverson fresh off her first appearance at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships. Iverson cleared 6-0.75 twice during the indoor season, which tied her for the sixth best performance in the country. Junior Klaudia Rokossa is returning from a leg injury and is looking to return to the NCAA Championship meet in the pole vault. She is also coming off a solid indoor season.
Utah's Amanda Mergaert leads the distance runners into the outdoor season. Last season, Mergaert was an NCAA qualifier in the 800m and 1500m events. In the 2011 indoor season, Mergaert broke her own mile school record three times. Alyssa Abbott will begin her final outdoor campaign with the Utes; she is coming off a great junior season where she qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500m and 5,000m events. Junior Lucy Yates will look to get back to the NCAA Championships, where she made it all the way to the semi final round of the 800m a year ago.
The hurdles group is headed by sophomore Angela Kaplar, who posted a new school record in the 60m hurdles during the indoor season. Alyssa Johnson will lead the sprinters in the 400m and be a key piece in relays for the Utes this season.
In the field events, Anneli Stahl will lead the team in the hammer throw. Stahl was a 2010 NCAA qualifier and looks to make a second appearance after coming off a great indoor season. The shot put athletes will feature 2010 NCAA qualifier Nikkie Rudder. She looks to return to the NCAA meet, after having a solid indoor campaign. Junior transfer Cynthia Sanchez surprised everyone with her performance in the weight throw during the indoor season.
Kepler's Comments
"We've continued to train at a high level so I expect our athletes to perform at a high level. The middle distance runners will be at Stanford and everybody else will compete at ASU. The preparations are more mental than physical and race distances are the same. The techniques in the field events don't change. However there are a few strategically differences as well as weather that may change how we approach an event."
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Jumps
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Jumps
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Hurdles
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Throws
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Throws
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Throws
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Distance
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