Track & Field Wraps Up Strong Three Meet Weekend

Saturday, April 27

Des Moines, IA

All Day

University of Utah

Drake Relays

, Utah Track and Field Spring Classic April 13, 2019 in Salt Lake City, UT. (Photo / Steve C. Wilson / University of Utah)

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

Track & Field Wraps Up Strong Three Meet Weekend

4/28/2019 9:44 AM | Track & Field

Desert Heat Classic Results Drake Relays Final Results Day 3 Robison Invite Results

The Utes have solid performances on Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa, TUCSON, Ariz. & PROVO – The Utah track and field team wrapped up a busy weekend of competition Saturday competing at three different meets, the Drake Relays, the Desert Heat Classic and the Robison Invitational.

At the Drake Relays, Utah competed in the women's DMR event where they captured a second-place finish. In a battle against Oklahoma State, the Utah 'A' team made up of junior Sarah Newton, senior Sadie Wassum, freshman Brooke Manson and junior Sarah Feeny, finished with a time of 11:17.26 to secure the second-place finish.

"We knew it was going to be a tough race and Newton did a great job of getting us to the front and while Feeny had the fastest 1,600 split of the field, it still wasn't quite enough," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "Wassum gave us a solid 400-meter leg but we needed to have better handoffs. Ultimately, we were beat by an outstanding group from Oklahoma State and it's one of those days where you shake their hands, say congrats and then go home and keep trying to get better. We still have a lot of the season left in front of us and this will help us get much better."

In Provo at the Robison Invitational, senior Mesa Weidle led the Utes in the 800-meter race finishing in sixth-place with a time of 2:14.80. Junior Anna Busatto and sophomore Natalie Platil also competed earning 13th and 18th-place, respectively. Busatto finished in a time of 2:22.59 while Platil crossed in a time of 2:28.96.

Sophomore's Kayle Rees and Ruby Jane Mathewson represented Utah in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday. Rees finished in a time of 1:03.02 to earn an eighth-place finish while Mathewson placed 14th with a time of 1:04.35. Rees's time is the third-fastest posted by a Ute in the event this season.

Moving to the mile race, freshman Sara Leonard was the first Ute to finish capturing 15th-place in a time of 5:18.51. Sophomore Astrid Lindgren and Busatto crossed with each other finishing in 18th and 19th-place, respectively. Lindgren finished with a time of 5:19.94 and Busatto crossed in a time of 5:20.38. Sophomore Ashley Licata ran a strong race finishing in 24th with a time of 5:28.90. This time gives Licata a new personal-best, topping her previous record by 11 seconds.

Down in Arizona at the Desert Heat Classic, sophomore Jackie Martin and freshman Brooklyn James and Lauren O'Banion all recorded new personal-bests in the 400-meter race. Martin finished in 12th in a time of 55.54, James earned 14th in a time of 55.81 and O'Banion crossed in 19th with a time of 56.59.

In the 200-meter event, freshman Taylor Watson led the Utes finishing in 23rd in a time of 25.21. Senior Raynee Helm-Wheelock and O'Banion also competed crossing right behind Watson earning 24th and 27th. Helm-Wheelock finished with a time of 25.24 while O'Banion set another PR finishing in a time of 25.52.

Watson and Helm-Wheelock also competed in the 100-meter dash finishing in 16th and 20^th-place, respectively. Watson crossed in a time of 12.12 while Helm-Wheelock finished in a time of 12.23.

Freshman Skyler Blair and junior Brooke Martin competed in the 400-meter hurdles finishing in seventh and 11th-place. Blair recorded a new personal-best time of 59.72 and B. Martin finished with a time of 1:04.04. Blair's new PR time tops her previous record by two seconds and moves her into fifth-place all-time at Utah.

Senior Transfer Kolbi Sims had a busy evening competing in three different events for the Utes, the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and javelin throw. In the 100-meter hurdles, Sims finished in a season-best time of 14.41 to capture 17th-place. This time moves Sims into ninth-place all-time at Utah. In the long jump, Sims captured a ninth-place finish with a jumping distance of 5.73-meters (18'9.6"). In the javelin throw, Sims competed alongside sophomore Regan Crofts who earned ninth-place with a throwing distance of 40.86-meters (134'1"). Sims finished in 14th with a throwing distance of 33.29-meters (109'3").

Moving to the high jump, senior Eliza Hansen earned a new PR with a jumping height of 1.72-meters (5'7.75") to capture a fourth-place finish. Freshman Maya LeBar competed in the triple jump where she finished in 10th-place with a distance of 11.25-meters (36'11").

Wrapping up the evening for the Utes was the 4x400-meter relay team made up of LeBar, Blair, James and J. Martin. This squad captured a fourth-place finish in a season's best time of 3:42.67 while J. Martin ran the fastest split of her team in 53.9.

"It was a huge night here in the desert and I thought the performances by Skyler, Eliza and Jackie were particularly impressive," Kepler said. "I'm really excited by the growth and development I am seeing from everyone and now we have to get the job done in the classroom and finish final exams as well as we can."

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