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Utah Track Looks to Continue Success at Drake Relays
4/26/2011 12:00 AM | Track & Field
Complete Release in PDF Format 
April 26, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY- The University of Utah women's track and field team will hit the road this week to compete at the Drake Relays and Steve Scott UC Irvine Invitational. The Drake Relays will begin on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. CST, and will be held at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Utah athletes competing at the Steve Scott UC Irvine Invitational will begin Saturday at 2 p.m. PST, which will be hosted at Anteater Stadium in Irvine, Calif.
"We have had some great success at the Drake Relays in the past few years," said Utah head coach Kyle Kepler. "We hope to use that experience to continue to perform at a high level."
Last season, Alyssa Abbott won the 1500m with a personal-best time of 4:23.48. Abbott became the first Utah athlete to win a title in the 101 year history of the Drake Relays. Her time still ranks second all-time in school history. Abbott looks to defend her title this week as she is scheduled to compete in the same event.
This week, Coach Kepler would like to have other Utah athletes accompany Abbott among the event champions. Sophomore Amanda Mergaert has continuously shown her elite ability this season and looks to improve on her fourth place finish in the 1500m at the 2010 Drake Relays.
Brianna LeRoy will lead off the week, as she is set to compete in the heptathlon that begins on Wednesday. LeRoy is currently ranked second place in the MWC for her performance at the 2011 Jim Click Invitational.
Sophomore Angela Kaplar is coming off a personal-best performance at the Robison Invitational. Kaplar will represent the Utes in the 100m hurdles and looks to improve on her time to qualify for the NCAA Region meet.
Langley Iverson will compete in the high jump for the Utes. With a good week of practice, Iverson looks to get back on track and qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
Utah is also scheduled to enter teams in the distance medley relay, sprint medley relay, and the 4x400m relay.
The Utah throwing athletes will head to Irvine, Calif., and compete at the Steve Scott UC Irvine Invitational on Saturday.
"At this point of the season, we have some athletes where they want to be and others who are still making a push to get where they need to be going into the MWC Championships," stated Kepler. "I think getting through final exams is always a big relief. That alone should help us improve and refocus for conference and NCAA's."
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Multiple
/ Track & Field
Distance
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