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.
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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Freshman
Nicole Griffiths also competed in the mile. Griffiths placed 80
th with a time of 5:12.14.
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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. Â
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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.
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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.
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Junior
Dakota Grossman placed 10
th in the mile run with a time of 5:06.73.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.Â
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