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.
 
"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."
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
"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.
 
Utah will close out the Baldy Castillo Invitational beginning Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. MT with the long jump.
 
"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.
 
Live results for Saturday's action are available via http://finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com/#/results/meet/1202.