Completed Event: General versus Arizona on January 18, 2002
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General
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A Running Start
8/30/2022 11:00 AM | General, Cross Country, Track & Field
One of the first women’s national titles in Utah’s storied history came in cross country in 1981
Sixth In A Series
By Dirk Facer
Although nearly 41 years have passed, it remains in memory yet green for retired University of Utah cross country coach Mike Jones. He still recalls details of the program’s 1981 national championship.
“When you have one hoo-rah you don’t forget it,” he joked.
The Utes won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Division II title in impressive fashion. They finished with 66 points, well ahead of second-place Air Force (85) and the rest of the field. The meet was held at the Highland Golf Course in Pocatello, Idaho — featuring 44 teams and 169 runners.
Utah’s seven participants all finished in the top 35. Three earned All-America honors that day. Jill Molen placed fourth overall despite an early fall. Carla Pittelkow and Mary Lou Sedgewick were sixth and ninth, respectively. The Utes also had strong showings by Heather Allen (23rd), Renee Martin (24th), Pam Crockett (32nd) and Marilyn French (35th). Jones noted that French, who struggled with oxygen deprivation on the up and down course, was talented enough to win the race.
“We had a real good team and it still wasn’t our best score,” said Jones, who added that French and the others had impressive performances at the regional meet in Albuquerque two weeks earlier.
The scheduling gap allowed Jones to take the team to Pocatello during the off week to plan their race strategy. He said the golf pro at the course was helpful and allowed them to do whatever they needed to get done.
“We prepared really well for this race,” Jones said.
Utah's cross country team won the regional meet two weeks before competing in the 1981 AIAW Championships.
Even so, he remembers the team being a little nervous.
“They had never, ever competed on the national level before and nobody really knew what to expect,” Jones said. “So we had to spend a lot of time just letting them know they were building confidence. They just needed to do what they were trained to do and they were going to turn out okay.”
And that’s exactly what happened, even though it was laced with a little drama after the race’s completion. The competition was over at noon, but official results weren’t revealed until an awards banquet a couple of hours later.
Jones acknowledged that word leaked out early. However, they didn’t know for sure until it was announced and the trophy was awarded.
“I was just super thrilled for every one of my girls for the achievement that they had done,” said Jones, who was named national coach of the year.
The championship was just the third for women athletics at the U.. The ski team won the 1978 AIAW title and gymnastics began its impressive run earlier in 1981.
While much has been said of those programs winning national titles, the cross country team’s accomplishment has resided in relative anonymity. The Salt Lake Tribune published a short article on their championship on page D13. It came on a day when Jim McMahon and BYU dominated the news with a lopsided football win over Utah.
They had never, ever competed on the national level before and nobody really knew what to expect. So we had to spend a lot of time just letting them know they were building confidence. They just needed to do what they were trained to do and they were going to turn out okay.Mike Jones
The university received a large trophy for the cross country title, which now resides in a Huntsman Center trophy case. Jones and the student-athletes received miniature replicas.
Jones, who is now 83, looks at his remembrance quite often. He keeps it in a study in his home in Kaysville.
“Nobody took us seriously. Then we went out there and we were just fortunate everything came together,” Jones said. “I had great students, great athletes and they all jumped on the bandwagon.”
Utah’s success came despite having just three scholarships. Those were divided three ways and were also used for track and field. The limited number is why the AIAW placed the Utes in Division II for cross country. Boston College, Marquette and Virginia Tech were among the others.
Title IX was only a couple of years old and funding for women’s athletics was very much still a work in progress. Jones, who coached the Utes for 23 years before retiring in 2001, had fond memories of his first recruit.
Molen (now Koven) came out of Salt Lake City’s West High School and was a state champion in cross country and in the mile. Recruiting long-distance runners, she recalled, was fairly new at the time — especially at Utah.
“I had gone down and talked to BYU,” Koeven said. “They were really nice and I thought seriously about BYU.”
However, things slowed down on that front. At the same time, Utah’s recruiting efforts intensified. Women’s athletic director Fern Gardner even reached out.
Jill Molen Koven, who went to West High School in Salt Lake City, came in fourth to pace Utah at the 1981 AIAW Championships.
“I was just kind, of like, in awe of her. Wow, this is a celebrity and she’s talking to me,” Koven said. “So I think that was a key selling point that she took the time.”
Koven called the experience “crazy” and “cool.” She was also able to follow in her father’s footsteps. He ran cross country and track for Utah back in the 1950s.
Everything worked out well for the top finisher on Utah’s only cross country national championship team. Koven gives a lot of the credit to Jones
“He definitely was the motivator. The heart and soul of the whole effort — absolutely,” Koven said. “He kind of had us in the palm of his hands. It was like you are going to do this, it’s obvious, I know you can.”
The team believed in him, she continued, and the rest is history. Being from Salt Lake City made it especially meaningful for Koven. She had family and friends that followed the journey closely.
Pittelkow (now Woodworth) took a different path to Utah. She was recruited by Jones after winning Nevada state titles in the 800 and the mile as a senior.
“Coach Jones kind of took a chance on me,” Woodworth said. “I hadn’t even run cross country in high school and yet I did really well once I got up there.”
Utah won the last AIAW cross country championship before the NCAA took over the following year. Because of the program’s low scholarship numbers, the Utes had difficulties competing when the format was changed.
Coach Jones definitely was the motivator. The heart and soul of the whole effort — absolutely. He kind of had us in the palm of his hands. It was like you are going to do this, it’s obvious, I know you can.Jill Molen Koven
Now, fully stocked with 18 scholarships, Utah cross country has regained national prominence under head coach Kyle Kepler. The Utes have qualified for the NCAA championships in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021, finishing as high as 16th in 2019. Utah also finished second at the 2021 Pac-12 Conference Championships.
“It’s a program that’s been up and it’s been down. We’re back again and I think that’s like a lot of collegiate programs,” said Kepler. “I think every program goes through that at some point. We’re just happy to be where we are and thankful that (the 1981 team) was able to set it in motion.”
Kepler noted that the program was really, really good at that point.
“To have that kind of success early on, I think, says a lot about the direction that the program had.” Kepler said.
Jones was one of the first people to call Kepler when he was hired nearly two decades ago. He offered his support to help get the program performing at a higher level once again.
The national championship, Kepler acknowledged, was so long ago that sometimes we all forget. Therefore, this story has all the makings of a forgotten championship, of sorts. That, however, hasn’t diminished its significance.
“I was always proud of how well the team did,” Woodworth said. “I felt so blessed to be part of that team.”
Woodworth, who is being inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame this year, shared that it was a huge part of her life.
“We just did what we had to do to improve and run as well as we could,” she said. “Everything just came together. It was pretty amazing.”
Head coach Mike Jones (top row, second from left) with his Utah first cross country team in 1979.
The accomplishment came before Title IX was even 10 years old. Its impact, however, had an impact on Utah’s cross country champions in so many ways.
Koven used her college education to become a registered nurse. She works at the VA Hospital and volunteers at the College of Nursing.
“I’m just so grateful,” she said. “That was a game changer.”
Even so, not much was made of Title IX at the time. Woodworth doesn’t recall it being discussed much, if at all.
“I was just so thankful for the opportunities,” she said.
During her high school career in Reno, Woodworth recalls having a girls’ track team but not cross country. A few girls ran with the boys’ team but she elected to play basketball during the fall.
“I never knew that a lot of it was tied to Title IX,” Woodworth said. “Coming to the U, I was just so happy they had a program that coach Jones invited me to. I didn’t really associate it with Title IX.”
As the pivotal piece of legislation celebrates its 50th anniversary there is a greater awareness. As often noted, it’s still a work in progress.
“I think it has done leaps and bounds,” Jones said. “I think Title IX is wonderful and I’m glad to see the equality go out in it — all the way.”
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