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#27 Utah Cross Country Returns to NCAA Championships
11/15/2016 2:28 PM | Cross Country
Utes head to Terre Haute, Ind.
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 27th-ranked Utah women's cross country team is headed back to the NCAA Championships for its second consecutive appearance and the second time in school history. Hosted by Indiana State, the national meet will be held this Saturday, Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind.
"We are incredibly excited to be back. Our kids while they are excited, they are not satisfied. I can definitely see that and feel that even in the last few days between the regional meet ending and coming back to practice early in the week," head coach Kyle Kepler said.
"They definitely know that people don't necessarily think of us as highly as we'd like them too, so we are going to try to go out and prove some people wrong and finish higher than we are ranked," Kepler continued.
THE RACE
The race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Live results for the race can be found via http://www.ncaa.com/2016-cross-country-championship provided by Record Timing. There will also be live stream of the event available via http://ncaa.com.
"This course is a terrific test of cross country and distance running. It has some twists, turns, and hills, longer and shorter hills. It is really a true challenge of cross country," Kepler stated.
UTES COMPETING
The lineup for the NCAA Championships for the Utes will include seniors Giselle Slotboom and Dana Snell, juniors Hannah McInturff and Grayson Murphy, and freshmen Amanda Gehrich, Poppy Tank, and Ashley Licata. These seven Utah runners also represented Utah in last week's NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
"We have some quality kids running but only one, Hannah McInturff, has experience in this kind of environment. It is a different course, last year we were at Louisville and now we are back at Terre Haute," Kepler said. "We will give a great effort. It is never a question of effort but just a matter of getting out, getting in the race, sticking our nose in it, being gritty and doing what we do."
LAST TIME OUT
The Utes seized their second consecutive at-large bid to nationals last week at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship. Utah took fourth place behind No. 1 Colorado, No. 6 New Mexico, and then-ranked No. 29 Air Force.
"NCAA Mountain Region is one of the best regions in the country quite honestly. We certainly respected that course and it is tougher than it looks. We ran the heck out of the back half of the course and our kids really came on like gangbusters. We were probably not in the national meet until the last mile of that race," Kepler said.
Leading the pack for Utah were juniors McInturff and Murphy, who finished the race in 17th and 18th place, followed by freshman Tank, who recorded a 25th place finish. McInturff, Murphy, and Tank earned all-region honors for their performances.
"Hannah McInturff led us and really got things rolling early in the race. Grayson Murphy, our leader for several meets this year, got right up there with her and those two got back together late in the race," Kepler stated. "True freshman Poppy Tank had her best race as a Utah Ute. She has had a terrific first year and we are excited for her future. She has been doing a great job."
"We are incredibly excited to be back. Our kids while they are excited, they are not satisfied. I can definitely see that and feel that even in the last few days between the regional meet ending and coming back to practice early in the week," head coach Kyle Kepler said.
"They definitely know that people don't necessarily think of us as highly as we'd like them too, so we are going to try to go out and prove some people wrong and finish higher than we are ranked," Kepler continued.
THE RACE
The race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Live results for the race can be found via http://www.ncaa.com/2016-cross-country-championship provided by Record Timing. There will also be live stream of the event available via http://ncaa.com.
"This course is a terrific test of cross country and distance running. It has some twists, turns, and hills, longer and shorter hills. It is really a true challenge of cross country," Kepler stated.
UTES COMPETING
The lineup for the NCAA Championships for the Utes will include seniors Giselle Slotboom and Dana Snell, juniors Hannah McInturff and Grayson Murphy, and freshmen Amanda Gehrich, Poppy Tank, and Ashley Licata. These seven Utah runners also represented Utah in last week's NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
"We have some quality kids running but only one, Hannah McInturff, has experience in this kind of environment. It is a different course, last year we were at Louisville and now we are back at Terre Haute," Kepler said. "We will give a great effort. It is never a question of effort but just a matter of getting out, getting in the race, sticking our nose in it, being gritty and doing what we do."
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Teams making an appearance on Saturday:
Teams making an appearance on Saturday:
| #20 Air Force | #21 Mississippi | #3 Providence |
| #9 Arkansas | #19 Mississippi State | #10 San Francisco |
| #28 Baylor | #13 Missouri | #4 Stanford |
| #18 BYU | #2 NC State | #30 UCLA |
| #1 Colorado | #6 New Mexico | #27 Utah |
| #24 Eastern Michigan | #11 Notre Dame | #18 Villanova |
| #17 Harvard | #15 Oklahoma State | #7 Washington |
| #16 Iowa State | #12 Oregon | #25 Wisconsin |
| Louisville | #29 Penn | #26 Yale |
| #5 Michigan | #8 Penn State | |
| #22 Michigan State | #14 Portland |
LAST TIME OUT
The Utes seized their second consecutive at-large bid to nationals last week at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship. Utah took fourth place behind No. 1 Colorado, No. 6 New Mexico, and then-ranked No. 29 Air Force.
"NCAA Mountain Region is one of the best regions in the country quite honestly. We certainly respected that course and it is tougher than it looks. We ran the heck out of the back half of the course and our kids really came on like gangbusters. We were probably not in the national meet until the last mile of that race," Kepler said.
Leading the pack for Utah were juniors McInturff and Murphy, who finished the race in 17th and 18th place, followed by freshman Tank, who recorded a 25th place finish. McInturff, Murphy, and Tank earned all-region honors for their performances.
"Hannah McInturff led us and really got things rolling early in the race. Grayson Murphy, our leader for several meets this year, got right up there with her and those two got back together late in the race," Kepler stated. "True freshman Poppy Tank had her best race as a Utah Ute. She has had a terrific first year and we are excited for her future. She has been doing a great job."
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
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