Completed Event: Track & Field versus NCAA Championships on June 12, 2025 ,
Final Score
Track & Field
vs NCAA Championships
2015 Track and Field Preview
12/29/2014 12:00 AM | Track & Field
Dec. 29, 2014
Entering its fourth year as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, the Utah women's track and field team is gearing up for another successful campaign in 2015. Under the direction of 10th-year head coach Kyle Kepler, the Utes are looking to balance veteran leadership with new talent in order to take their place among the elite teams in the nation's top conference.
"We obviously want to return as many kids to the NCAA Championships as we can," Kepler said. "We have a set of upperclassmen who have a lot of experience and have had some success. We also have a group of younger gals, freshmen and sophomores, who I think are really talented and can come in and experience a great deal of success early on in their careers. We want to see some individual improvement, which I think will lead to team improvement.
"Our seniors need to provide a good example for our underclassmen," Kepler continued. "They need to make sure that they don't get too high when things go great, or too low when things don't go as well as they expect. In our program we talk about making sure that nothing drops below a `B' type of day. If it is not a perfect `A' day that is okay, but we need to make sure it doesn't drop below a `B' so we can keep moving forward and stop it from going backwards."
Fresh off a successful, but illness-plagued cross country season, the Utah distance runners hope to use the short break between seasons to return to full health and turn their attention back to the track. Leading this group will be senior Rebekah Winterton and true freshman Sarah Feeny. Winterton just missed qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November. Last season she won the MPSF Championship in the 5,000 during indoor and finished eighth in the 10,000 at the Pac-12 Championship, qualifying for the NCAA preliminaries. Feeny received national recognition coming out of high school, but had to battle through illness in her first cross country season. Despite not being one hundred percent, Feeny finished first for the Utes and 32nd overall at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
"We probably fielded the most talented team we ever had last cross country season," Kepler stated. "It is going to be a very interesting and fun track season with them being so young. If we can get them to adapt to the track in some of the same ways they did to cross country, our distance group could definitely surprise quite a few people. We know that we have some challenges ahead for our distance group, but that opens up some space for some kids to step up and improve and help themselves make some gains."
After redshirting the entire 2014 season, senior Destanae Howerton-Davis returns to lead the Utah throwing group. She qualified for NCAA prelims in the discus in 2013. Accompanying Howerton-Davis will be fellow senior Aoife Hickey and sophomore Ilse Kaaja. Last season, Hickey qualified for the NCAA preliminaries and finished fifth in the hammer throw at the Pac-12 Championships. Kaaja finished as the top freshman at the NCAA preliminaries in the hammer and recorded a personal-best throw of 195 feet, 1 inch to capture sixth at the conference championships. Sophomore Kassie Nagel will also help strengthen this group in the shot put.
"I think the throwers will definitely be a strength for us this particular year," Kepler said. "It is great to get Destanae back in the mix after redshirting last season. Aoife has been a NCAA qualifier for us for quite a few years and she will, along with Ilse Kaaja, make us strong in the hammer throw. We saw a lot of good things from Kassie as a freshman in the shot put. She will be striving for more consistency this season. She is a big time talent and we hope she can take that next step and really improve and possibly get herself on the nationally scene. There are definitely some exciting things that can happen in our throwing group, but they will have to step up and continue to practice at a high level."
The throws group will also be enhanced by the addition of Stanford transfer Megan Glasmann. A Utah native, Glasmann was No. 2 in national high school history in the javelin with her 176 feet, 11 inch toss at the Pan Am Junior Championships in Columbia in 2013. Last season, Glasmann earned her second consecutive U.S. junior national title in the javelin with a season-best throw of 175 feet.
"Glasmann is definitely a big pick up for us," Kepler said. "She is definitely someone who I think can come in and make an immediate impact, not only in the conference, but get into the national meet as well. We hope that she can step up establish herself as one of the best in the country in the javelin. She was injured at the end of last year, so we have to make sure that he is one hundred percent. The javelin is one of those events that beat your body up. It requires so much force and energy to perform, so we will definitely keep an eye on her. "
Under the watch of newly hired assistant coach Pete Herber, the sprints and hurdles group will have their work cut out for them after losing All-American senior Rosalie Waller. Stepping up to fill Waller's shoes will be senior Ali Eisenbeiss. Last season, Eisenbeiss ran the third-fastest 800 time in school history. In the shorter sprints, sophomore Alissa Atisme returns as the school-record holder in the 200. Junior Jameela Hayes and sophomore Rhianna Williams will also help bolster this group.
"Pete is extension of my philosophy as a head coach," Kepler explained. "Beyond that, he is a great technician. He is a guy who provides great leadership and is able to speak to the kids in a way that will know exactly what his expectations are. He is great at providing direction and explanation, and then expects his kids to go out there and do it.
"Ali is probably the leader of that middle distance group," Kepler said. "We have some other young kids behind her, and maybe one or two freshmen will be able to step in and help. Atisme has looked very fit for our shorter sprint group. She is somebody who we are definitely excited to see grow again this year and be the cornerstone of that group."
The jumps group will have their work cut out for them, with only two returners. The Utes will rely on sophomores Kailey Hansen and Courtney Jost to be the leaders of this group after losing Theresa Waybright to graduation. Hansen finished 11th in the high jump at Pac-12's while Jost was 10th in the triple jump. Alongside Hansen and Jost will be true freshman Michelle Norman. With only two years of collegiate experience combined, this group is sure to be tested but shows promising talent heading into the indoor season.
"I am certainly concerned with the lack of depth," Kepler said. "Courtney is coming off surgery in the fall, so we probably won't have her back until the outdoor season. We want to make sure that she has plenty of time to heal and do things the right way. Kailey Hansen finished strong at the end of last season. We know that she has some talent and want to continue to keep her healthy. So far, Michelle looks good and I think that she will anchor that crew this year. We just have to do with what we have so far and down the road that could become one of the major strengths for our track and field program."
The Utah track and field team will get the indoor season underway on January 9, 2015 at the BYU Preview.
On April 10, 2015 the Utes will hold their annual Utah Spring Classic at the McCarthey Family Track and Field.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Middle Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance/CC
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Hurdles/Middle Distance
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
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