No. 20 Utah Cross Country Opens at Utah Invite

Saturday, September 2

Logan, Utah

All Day

University of Utah

Utah State Invitational

8/30/2017 8:45 AM | Cross Country

No. 20 Utah Cross Country Opens at Utah Invite

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah cross country team will open their 2017 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Sagebrush Invitational, hosted by Utah State in Logan, Utah. Action is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. MST at the Innovation campus.

"Pretty typical beginning of the year meet for everybody," Utah head coach Kyle Kepler said. "Not many workouts have taken place for everybody and it's a good chance to get out and get our feet wet. We will race primarily our younger and more developing athletes and will save some of our gals who we know will be playing a pretty major role until later in the season.

"For some of the younger kids and more emerging athletes it is a great chance for them to put their name out there and earn a spot in some of the lineups later in the year when we have to start cutting down due to the rules of each meet and so forth."

On the heels of back-to-back team appearances at the NCAA Championships with a 20th-place finish in 2016, the Utes enter the season ranked 22nd in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association coaches poll, 16th by FloTrack and fourth in the mountain region. The Utah cross country team looks to have another strong showing in 2017 with five of the seven athletes who competed at last year's championship returning, including the top five finishers.

"We are coming off an awesome year and we return most of those student-athletes so the excitement is real here on campus," Kepler said. "One thing that is important is that everybody understands that last year was last year and this year is this year. It's a different team, it's a different dynamic and you have to fight for things just as hard, and maybe even harder than you did a year ago, because now you are going to have a target on your back and people are going to come running for us. I know the kids have put in a ton of work this summer and I am excited to have everyone back. This team is really in it for each other, regardless who is and isn't running. They are all pulling for each other every day in practice."

The Utes will be led by seniors Grayson Murphy and Hannah McInturff, who just missed earning All-America honors at last year's NCAA Championships, finishing 53rd and 60th, respectively. In her first season at Utah last year, Murphy finished 12th at the Pac-12 Championships and earned all-region honors in cross country. She improved as the season progressed, earning All-America honors in both indoor and outdoor track and breaking several track school records. McInturff is a two-time all-region cross country runner who was second-team All-Pac-12 in 2015.

The Utes ran three freshmen at last year's NCAA Championships, with each looking to improve on their results as sophomores. Poppy Tank earned all-region honors with a 25th-place finish at the Region Championship and finished just outside the top 100 at NCAA's. Amanda Gehrich is coming off a strong track campaign, reaching the NCAA West Preliminary in the 1,500 and finishing fifth at the Pac-12 Championships at the event. Ashley Licata helped clinch Utah's 20th-place finish at NCAA's as Utah's fifth scorer, although she is recovering from an injury suffered in the track season and is a possibility to redshirt.

Seniors Jessica Sams and Shaylen Crook both raced at the NCAA Championships in 2015. Sams, who redshirted last season, has been a solid finisher for the Utes and just missed earning all-region honors in 2015. Crook finished 86th at last year's Pac-12 Championships.

With a 23-runner roster, the Utes have multiple student-athletes with significant experience. Senior Dakota Grossman is a three-year cross country competitor who competed at the Pac-12 Championships in 2014. Junior Hannah Allred redshirted last cross country season and races the 5,000 and 3,000 in track. Junior Caitlin Faust has been strong for Utah in the 800 in track, ranking in the top 10 in school history in both the indoor and outdoor 800. Senior Sadie Wassum has also been strong in the shorter distances and is in her third cross country season. Sophomores Nicole Griffiths and Melissa Taggart were also strong in the 800 last season for Utah as freshman. Junior Jade Mulvey ran her first cross country season in 2016 and raced the 10,000 last track season. Junior Megan Spehar has competed in six meets over the past two years and redshirted last track season. Sophomore Anna Busatto competed in three races as a freshman and looks to come back strong after redshirting the track campaign.

Trina Moreno and Emma Christensen both redshirted as freshmen last year. Christensen finished fifth at the 2015 Minnesota State Cross Country Championships. Moreno finished eighth in the state in cross country her junior year of high school and looked to have a strong senior year before an injury.

The Utes add five newcomers to the team. Senior transfer Louise Mercer hails from Scotland and previously raced with the Hare and Hounds Running Club at the University of Edinburgh. She finished 12th at the 2017 British Athletics Mountain Running Championships. Freshman Bella Williams of England was the 2015 Lincolnshire Sport Young Sportswoman of the Year and finished 21st at the 2017 World Mountain Running Championship. Freshman Aubrey Argyle, a Kaysville, Utah, product who attended Davis High School, won Utah state championships in the 1,600 and 3,200 and finished in the top four at the Utah High School Cross Country Championship four times. Freshman Natalie Platil was a four-time competitor at the Colorado State Cross Country Championships with a best finish of 19th in 2015. Australian freshman Cara Woolnough finished 10th in the 1,500 at the 2014 Australian Junior Championships.

"A lot of student-athletes will be in the mix," Kepler said. "You can't predict breakthroughs. You think that you know who is going to break through and all of a sudden somebody is breaking through that you didn't anticipate. I am wide open as a coach and I really try to watch everyone to see who is willing to step up. We have some kids who are track-first, but need the cross country base and training style to benefit their track season. Sometimes those women will put a chip on their shoulder and show they are ready to step up. Every year is different and everyone has to earn their spot. The most important thing is that we stay healthy and are healthy on the right days of the year."