Cross Country Set to Open 2018 Season in Logan This Weekend

Saturday, September 1

Logan, UT

All Day

University of Utah

Sagebrush Invitational

Cross Country Set to Open 2018 Season in Logan This Weekend

8/28/2018 9:06 AM | Cross Country

Utes to Compete in Sagebrush Invitational on Saturday

LOGAN, Utah – The Utah cross country team will open the 2018 season this Saturday, Sept. 1, competing in the Sagebrush Invitational, which will be hosted by Utah State and take place in Logan, Utah. The meet will be held at Innovation Wellness Park and will get underway at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.

Utes competing this weekend include: Hannah Allred, Anna Busatto, Emma Christensen, Makenzie Clark, Sarah Feeny, Nicole Griffiths, Megan Killian, Ashley Licata, Astrid Lindgren, Jade Mulvey, Sarah Newton, Natalie Platil and Kennedy Powell.

2018 SEASON PREVIEW
Despite missing out competing at the NCAA Championships as a team a season ago, the Utah Utes cross country team will enter the 2018 season looking to regain its championship form, just as it did in back-to-back NCAA Championship appearances in 2015 and 2016.

"Certainly last year was disappointing, from just a pure standpoint that we didn't make it," said Utah head coach Kyle Kepler. "We were 32nd in the country overall and when you think about it, 32nd – if I'm in a few of the other sports – we not only make it, into some kind of tournament, maybe and find yourselves moving into the next round. So, you have got to be really careful at how you measure success in certain years.

"I think with the group we had, I thought we would have gotten in, but we just didn't quite do enough and so it was a lesson learned. I think the kids took that to heart and tried to turn that negative into a positive. This year's group is completely different. We lost a lot of really good seniors, and just as much talent we lost, we also lost some really good leadership. But, this is a chance where some returning athletes in the program that have been waiting in the wings and waiting for their turn, can take advantage now. I think we have had one of our best recruiting classes ever on the cross country side of things, so we are going to hope that a few of those athletes can step right in and help us as well."

Utah, who opens the preseason ranked No. 6 in the USTFCCCA Mountain Regional rankings, returns just two of the seven runners that competed in the NCAA Regional meet a year ago, but do have the luxury of returning a total of 14 athletes overall that competed in 2017. Leading the way will be Poppy Tank, who finished 21st at the mountain regional in Provo, Utah, last season. Trina Moreno also returns to the team after competing in the regional meet a season ago. Other returners that competed in at least one event last season include Hannah Allred, Aubrey Argyle, Anna Busatto, Emma Earl, Caitlin Faust, Nicole Griffiths, Astrid Lindgren, Jade Mulvey, Megan Killian, Natalie Platil, Sadie Wassum and Bella Williams.

Argyle, Faust, Moreno and Tank return as Utah's competitors from last season's Pac-12 Championships. Tank tallied a top-20 finish coming in 18th overall, while Argyle (74th), Faust (70th) and Moreno (63rd) recorded top-75 finishes for the Utes. Allred notched a pair of top-15 finishes on the year, while Wassum managed to place among the top-20 finishers in both events she competed in.

Kepler and his staff will welcome six newcomers to this season's team, with all six coming in as true freshmen from high school. The list includes Scarlet Dale, Sara Leonard, Brooke Manson, Grace McGlaughlin, Kennedy Powell and Sophie Ryan.

Powell, who hails from Roosevelt, Utah, is the only local athlete among the group, while four others come from out of state and one makes her way from the United Kingdom. Dale joins the Utes from Lancashire, England, becoming the third Utah runner on the roster from the UK (Tank, Williams). Meanwhile, Ryan joins the team all the way from Manlius, N.Y., and McGlaughlin joins the squad from Rockford, Ill. Manson is a native of Sammamish, Wash., and Leonard joins the squad from Anaheim Hills, Calif.

"I think we are as deep as we have ever been," said Kepler. "I think Sarah Feeny, who was on that first national qualifying team and coming off an LDS mission, could be a great asset back to the team. We have a gal, a freshman, in a kid like Scarlet Dale who is amazing up in the mountains can be a good unknown for us. Certainly Poppy Tank is probably our top returning athlete, but we've just got a plethora of other gals.

"Sophie Ryan was on four high school national championship teams and is someone that comes from a program that knows success. Along with Sarah [Feeny] looking good early, Sadie Wassum will be counted on as a senior for us. Sarah Newton has never run cross country and is on the roster for us. Aubrey [Argyle] was a state champion here in Utah and we are looking forward to her moving forward and progressing. They are all just on the cusp. It is their turn and it's their time and I hope they can take advantage of it."

Utah's first three meets of the season will be local affairs, as the team opens the season up in Logan, Utah, at the Sagebrush Invitational (Sept. 1). Less than a week later the Utes will make the trip up to Twin Falls, Idaho, to compete in the College of Southern Idaho Invite (Sept. 7). Utah will wrap-up local competition just a few miles south, running in the BYU Autumn Classic (Sept. 15) in Provo, Utah.

Utah closes out the month of September, heading all the way east to Boston, to compete in the Battle in Beantown event on Friday, Sept. 21. The Utes will take a week off before getting back into action in Logan again, this time at the Steve T. Reeder Invitational on Friday, Oct. 5. Utah wraps up the regular season, again heading east, to compete at the Penn State National in State College, Pa., on Friday, Oct. 12.

The Utes will head west for the Pac-12 Championships, which will take place Friday, Oct. 26, in Palo Alto, Calif. The NCAA Mountain Regional Championships will take place in Provo (Nov. 9), while the NCAA Championships will be held in Madison, Wisc. (Nov. 16).

Fans can follow the Utah cross country program on Twitter (@Utah_trackfield), Facebook (UtahTrackXC) and on Instagram (@UtahTrackXC).