Denis Continues Strong Start to Indoor Season, Breaks Utah 400m Record

Saturday, February 11

Albuquerque, NM

All Day

University of Utah

Don Kirby Invitational

Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics

Denis Continues Strong Start to Indoor Season, Breaks Utah 400m Record

2/11/2023 8:27 PM | Track & Field

Dee Denis continues to impress as she claims her third-straight school record on Saturday at the Don Kirby Invitational.

ALBUQUERQUE – For the third time in as many meets, Dee Denis broke yet another school record on Saturday at the Don Kirby Invitational behind a thrilling finish in her heat at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Don Kirby Invitational (Live Results)
Denis got off to a quick start in the 400m dash and was challenged by NAU's Kyairra Reigh heading into the final lap but the senior showed poise down the stretch. The senior would eventually catch Reigh heading down the final 100m stretch and pass her in the final steps heading into the finish line to win her heat with a school-record setting run of 53.88 (aa) – which was good for fourth overall.

??SCHOOL RECORD ALERT??

Dee Denis breaks ANOTHER school record, this time with a 5??3??.8??8?? (aa) in the 400m dash at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational!#GoUtes | #UtahTFXC pic.twitter.com/udtoMErjqy
— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) February 11, 2023

Harley Daniel tied her PR in the 60m hurdles qualifier, running an 8.68 (aa) before setting a new PR in the prelims with a mark of 8.65 (aa) while Bailey Kealamakia ran a 9.01 (aa) in the qualifiers.

Over in the 60m dash, freshman Emily Martin paced the quartet of Utes with a time of 7.65 in the qualifiers. Kelise Davis was the second-fastest Ute, checking in at 7.82 (aa) followed by Megan Rose and Malia Overton to close out Utah's day inside the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Husky Classic (Live Results)
Rachel Whipple was the first Ute to step onto the starting block over at the Husky Classic, posting the fifth-fastest time of the day there with a PR run of 57.68.

Lauren Peterson and Karli Branch both caught the PR bug going around as well. Peterson bested her previous PR by nearly 12 seconds, posting a time of 4:52.28 in the mile while Branch shaved off nearly four seconds with a run of 5:03.47.

Over in the 800m race, Brooke Manson recorded a season best mark of 2:07.98 while Bri Rinn took first in her heat behind a PR run of 2:11.91. Millie Wilcox (2:12.20) competed in her first collegiate 800m race and took third in the same heat as Rinn.

UP NEXT
Utah will have a light week of competition coming up with only the DMR crew heading to South Bend, Ind., for the Alex Wilson Invitational (Feb. 18) where they'll get their first shot at qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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