TEMPE, Ariz. – The Utah track and field team opened its outdoor season at the Baldy Castillo Invitational Friday night in Tempe, Ariz. Utah competed in four events on the first day of the two-day event and had strong performances to open outdoor competition.
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"This was a great opening night to start the outdoor season. We gave great effort and competed hard," head coach
Kyle Kepler said. "There is a learning curve involved in the beginning of the season and all of our kids will continue to learn and get better. Our girls did a nice job of doing what they have been practicing and put it to use out on the track or in the field events."
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In the 200-meter dash, senior
Alissa Atisme competed unattached and placed 14
th with a time of 24.82 seconds. Behind Atisme, freshman
Ann Wingeleth earned 29
th place after finishing with a time of 25.69 seconds.
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Freshman
Holly Stallman finished the race in 26.0 seconds to place 35
th and junior
Mesa Weidle placed 43
rd overall with a time of 26.64 seconds.
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Rounding out the Utes in the 200, sophomore
Lauren McCluskey finished in 50
th place in a time of 28.74 seconds and freshman
Piper Wehrli placed 52
nd with a time of 29.42 seconds.
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Utah had two athletes, freshman
Brooke Martin and junior
Madison Lanford, compete in the 400-meter hurdles. Martin and Lanford placed ninth and tenth, respectively. Martin finished with a time of 1:05:13, while Lanford finished with a time of 1:06.78.
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The Utah runners closed out the first day of competition in the 2000-meter steeplechase. Senior
Becky Sarmiento led the way for Utah when she recorded a top-five finish, placing fourth with a time of 7:02.40.
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Freshman
Ashley Licata placed 11
th in her first collegiate steeplechase with a time of 7:20.47. Senior
Dana Snell rounded out the Utes in the race, when Snell placed 13
th in a time of 7:36.54.
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Competing as the sole Ute in the javelin, sophomore
Christine Glasmann finished in eighth place with her best mark coming at 149 feet, 1 inch.
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"This was a good start for Chrissy to get out there and do so well. She made it to the final and threw better than she did a year ago at this meet, so we are excited about her progress and where she can go," said Kepler.
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Utah will close out the Baldy Castillo Invitational beginning Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. MT with the long jump.
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"If we can go out there tomorrow and compete as hard as we did today, we will be just as successful. At the beginning of the season, it isn't about getting best times or marks but rather giving a great effort. If those times or marks come it is great, but it is important to always compete hard," said Kepler.
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Live results for Saturday's action are available via
http://finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com/#/results/meet/1202.Â
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