Utah Track and Field Breaks Into Record Book at Husky Classic

Saturday, February 11

Albuquerque, N.M.

All Day

University of Utah

Don Kirby Elite

Utah Track and Field Breaks Into Record Book at Husky Classic

2/11/2017 7:51 PM | Track & Field

Husky Classic Final Results Don Kirby Invitational Final Results

Utes close out second day of competition with strong performances.

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Utah track and field team recorded another successful weekend at the Husky Classic and Don Kirby Invitational with the highlights of the weekend coming out of Seattle, where five athletes broke into the top-10 all-time lists in Utah indoor history.

After starting off the Husky Classic on Friday with junior Grayson Murphy breaking the 35 year old school record in the 5000-meter run, the Utes that competed on Saturday continued the momentum with performances in the mile, 3000-meter, and 800-meter runs.

"Another solid day here in Seattle and in Albuquerque. We had six lifetime best performances and a couple season best performances," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "Certainly it was a great performance here in Seattle this weekend by the distance crew. Today was a very good day and we have taken significant steps forward."

Sophomore Caitlin Faust and junior Grace Englund were featured in the 800-meter run. Faust earned a 28^th place finish after finishing with a time of 2:12.45. Faust's time cracked into the top-10 all-time list, ranking seventh all-time. Englund finished the race in a time of 2:15.31 to place 45^th.

Freshman Amanda Gehrich continued to move up the all-time indoor record list in the mile where she moved into third place with her performance in the mile on Saturday. Gehrich clocked a time of 4:47.45 and finished in 29^th place.

Freshman Nicole Griffiths also competed in the mile. Griffiths placed 80^th with a time of 5:12.14.

Rounding out the Husky Classic competition was in the 3000-meter run, where junior Hannah McInturff and senior Becky Sarmiento both posted top-10 all-time performances. McInturff finished in 28^th place in a time of 9:24.52. This time moved her into fourth all-time in the 3K. Sarmiento earned a 46^th place finish with a time of 9:43.04. Sarmiento's time ranked ninth all-time.

Freshman Poppy Tank and junior Jessica Sams also competed in the 3000-meter run. Tank placed 51^st after clocking a time of 9:47.48. Sams finished in 67^th with a time of 9:57.23.

After a successful second day of competition at the Husky Classic, Utah also finished up competition at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

Junior Dakota Grossman placed 10^th in the mile run with a time of 5:06.73.

In the 400-meter run, junior Mesa Weidle finished the race with a time of 58.03 seconds to finish in 55^th place. Freshman Brooke Martin notched 63^rd place after finishing with a time 59.14 seconds.

Competing in the 800-meter run were freshmen Sarah Newton and Melissa Taggart, along with Grossman. Newton led the Utes after earning a top-10 finish, placing 8^th with a time of 2:14.75. Grossman finished in a time to place 19^th overall with a time of 2:19.07. Taggart followed behind Grossman and finished in 20^th place in a time of 2:19.29.

Closing out competition Saturday from Albuquerque, the Utes placed 13^th in the 4x400 meter relay. The relay team consisting of Weidle, Martin, Newton, and Taggart finished the relay in a time of 3:57.20.

"We walk away from here feeling good about the progress we have made. I was able to see some good things. The girls ran smart races and made adjustments when they needed to. We are looking forward to the next two weeks of training to get sharp for the MPSF Championships," said assistant coach Pete Herber.

Utah will be back in action in two weeks at the MPSF Championships in Seattle, Wash. The two-day meet will take place on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25.