Utes Get Off to Quick Start at Stanford Invitational

Friday, April 3

Palo Alto, Calif.

All Day

University of Utah

Stanford Invitational

Utes Get Off to Quick Start at Stanford Invitational

4/4/2015 12:00 AM | Track & Field

April 4, 2015

Stanford Invite Results

Distance Carnival Results

PALO ALTO, Calif.- The Utah women's track and field team completed the first day of the Stanford Invitational with several Utes posting impressive performances. Capturing the spotlight for the Utes on the first day was the first-place finish in the hammer throw by Ilse Kaaja.

"Overall, I am very pleased," Utah head coach Kyle Kepler said. "We came out here and got done what we were trying to get done. We recorded some personal bests, some top times and marks in school history and definitely added at least one more NCAA qualifier. We are definitely excited about all of those things and look forward to competing tomorrow."

Kaaja led the way for the Utes in the hammer throw, recording a throw of 189 feet, 8 inches to capture first overall. Aoife finished not far behind in fourth after throwing a distance of 183 feet, 8 inches.

Sophomore Megan Glasmann continued her impressive 2015 season with another top-five performance in the javelin. Glasmann recorded a throw of 155 feet, 1 inch to earn third overall.

Senior Destanae Howerton-Davis competed in the shot put for the Utes. Howerton-Davis finished fifth overall with a throw of 48 feet, 10 inches.

The 10,000-meter run featured an NCAA qualifying time by senior Rebekah Winterton. Winterton crossed the line in 33:57. 31 to earn ninth in section two.

Representing Utah in the 1500-meter race was true freshman Sarah Feeny. Feeny recorded a new personal-best time of 4:20.65 to claim fourth in section one. Feeny's team also lands her a spot on the Utah all-time list, where she now ranks third.

The hurdle events featured sophomore Christine Van Brocklin competing for the Utes. In the 400 hurdles, Van Brocklin recorded a time of 63.68 seconds to capture the fourth spot in section four. She followed up this performance with another impressive performance in the 100-meter hurdles, where she captured eighth in heat one.

Competing up the road at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival was sophomore Becky Sarmiento in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sarmiento broke eleven minutes for the first time in her collegiate career with a time of 10:57.25 to capture first in section two. Fellow sophomore Dana Snell also competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the Utes. Competing for the first time in the event, Snell earned seventh in section two with a time of 11:19.42.

Leading the way for the Utes in the 1500 was senior Nikki Rietz. Rietz recorded a time of 4:34.49 to earn first in section two. Accompanying Rietz was true freshman Dakota Grossman. Grossman ran in section four where she claimed ninth with a time of 4:47.11.

Junior Allison Aafedt and sophomore Makenzie Clark competed in the 800 for the Utes. Aafedt ran in section three, where she recorded a second-place time of 2:14.46. Clark earned second in section four, recording a personal best time of 2:15.41 to claim second.

The 5,000-meter run featured three Utes competing. Crossing the line first for the Utes and sixth in section one was sophomore Jessica Sams in a personal best time of 16:49.26. Shaylen Crook and Lauren Mills also competed in the 5,000, finishing 10th and 28th in their sections.

The Utes will return to action Saturday with the women's 800-meter race beginning at 2:11 pm PST. The race will be held at the Cobb Track in Palo Alto, Calif.