Utah Track & Field Ready for 2019 MPSF Championships

Friday, February 22

Seattle, WA

All Day

University of Utah

MPSF Indoor Championships

Utah Track & Field Ready for 2019 MPSF Championships

2/20/2019 6:01 PM | Track & Field

2019 MPSF Championships Schedule 2019 MPSF Championships Live Results 2019 MPSF Entries

The Utes travel back to Seattle, Wash.

SALT LAKE CITY – After having the weekend off to rest and prepare, the Utah women's track and field team is ready to go as they will compete at the 2019 MPSF Indoor Championships this weekend, Feb. 22-23, in Seattle, Wash. The meet will take place at the Dempsey Indoor Facility on the campus of the University of Washington, with competition slated to begin on Friday at 12:00 p.m. (PST) and on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (PST).

"It's a kind of meet where there is a lot of different focuses. You are trying to get anybody qualified for the NCAA Championships which we are going to aim to do with Sarah Feeny," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "It's a really deep, challenging, and great meet to be a part of…we are excited, the kids are always excited and we'll take up a group that we think can be competitive and perform at a high level."

The Utes will be sending a large group of runners to compete at MPSF Championships. Runners include: Scarlet Dale, Sarah Feeny, Nicole Griffiths, Eliza Hansen, Raynee Helm-Wheelock, Whitney Hessler, Brooklyn James, Maya Lebar, Brooke Manson, Jackie Martin, Sarah Newton, Lauren O'Banion, Kennedy Powell, Sophie Ryan, Poppy Tank, Sadie Wassum, Taylor Watson, Mesa Weidle, Bella Williams and Cara Woolnough.

22 of the top women's track and field programs in the west will be participating at the MPSF Championships. The MPSF group is made up of members from the Big West, Pac-12 and West Coast Conferences. The Pac-12 has the most teams with 12 track and field programs in the MPSF. Notable teams participating this weekend include: BYU, USC, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, and Stanford.

"We are excited for another great meet up at the Dempsey Center in Seattle and the MPSF meet is traditionally one of the best meets this weekend in the year, every year and we are excited to be a part of it," Kepler said.

At the 2018 MPSF Championships, the Utes had a solid showing as they finished in 12th place, recorded many new lifetime bests and moved athletes into the Utah all-time top-10 lists. Former Ute, Alissa Atisme, highlighted the weekend for Utah as she broke her own school record in the 60-meter dash.

Last time out, the Utes split up three different ways to compete at the Don Kirby Elite Invite in Albuquerque, N.M., the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., and the New Balance/Boise Team Invite in Boise, Idaho. Utah only competed in one event at the Husky Classic on Friday where junior Feeny, and sophomores Tank and Williams competed in the 3,000-meter race. Feeny shined for the Utes as she topped her previous school record by two seconds and finished in 14th place. Tank and Williams also recorded new personal-best times which moved Tank into fourth-place all-time and kept Williams placed 10th all-time at Utah in the event.

At the Don Kirby Invite on Friday and Saturday, the Utes moved six runners into the all-time Utah top-10 lists. Sophomore Martin and freshman Lebar got the ball rolling on Friday as they both competed in the 200-meter race where they recorded new personal best times and moved into second and fourth-place all-time, respectively. Sophomore Hessler had a strong performance in the 600-meter race where she earned a new personal record and moved herself into second-place all time in the event.

On Saturday, Utah had its best performance in the 4x400-meter race where Utah squad 'A' ran a season best time of 3:47.35.

At the New Balance/Boise Team Invite, Utah captured its only event title in the 3,000-meter race where freshman Dale took home the event title. Sophomores Emma Christensen and Astrid Lindgren earned huge PR's as they topped their previous records by 17 and 18 seconds, respectively.

Utah had a strong showing in the 400-meter as they placed all six of their competitors inside the top-20 finishers. Freshman Manson crossed the finish first for the Utes as she earned a fifth-place finish.

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

Click below to listen to head coach Kyle Kepler in his weekly Track Chat podcast.