Women of Utah Headed Home with Relay Cup Title from Drake Relays

Saturday, April 29

Des Moines, IA

All Day

University of Utah

Drake Relays

Photo by: Matthew Putney

Women of Utah Headed Home with Relay Cup Title from Drake Relays

4/29/2023 7:09 PM | Track & Field

Drake Relay Results Bengal Invitational Results Kepler Interview Simone Plourde Interview SMR Team Interviews Photo Gallery

Simone Plourde broke the school record in the 1500m while Utah captured its first-ever Relay Cup title at the Drake Relays.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Utah track & field team came to Des Moines with one goal in mind, to win this year's relay cup, and did just that on a rainy Saturday inside Drake Stadium at the 113th running of the Drake Relays.

"Unbelievable weekend by all of our women," head coach Kyle Kepler, who grew up just an hour north from Drake Stadium up I-35 in Webster City. "They all contributed to the cup title. We scored in every relay, which is the best way to win. The DMR got us rolling today while the SMR team ran to plan for the win. Our depth really shined through. Simone ran an outstanding race against most professional runners and broke the relay's all-time collegiate record along with a school record."

Congrats to @Utah_trackfield and @NUTrackandField on winning this year's Relays Cups!#GoRelays pic.twitter.com/1YFfHdfyH3
— Drake Relays (@DrakeRelays) April 29, 2023

The DMR squad started the day off with each runner for Utah moving the team up one spot at each exchange before finishing in 11:29.31 for second. That time from Lauren Peterson, Ally Gomm, Bri Rinn and Erin Vringer was good for fifth-fastest in program history.

Utah's sprint medley relay squad of Dee Denis, Maya LeBar, Emily Martin and Josefine Eriksen ran with a little extra motivation and secured the event victory for Utah, its second in as many years, with a mark of 3:58.41 – which was also the fifth-fastest time in school history. In addition, the win also tacked on 10 more points for the Utes and basically secured its victory in the Relay Cup race.

With all eyes on the famed Blue Oval during the national broadcast portion on CBS Sports Network, Simone Plourde toed the line with a field full of professionals in the 1500m race. The Montreal, Canada, native did not waver and ran stride-for-stride with some of the world's best before narrowly getting edge by Nikki Hiltz (4:09.02) with a school-record breaking time of 4:10.04 despite her efforts in the final 100m.

In addition to breaking the school record, Plourde's 1500m time was the fourth fastest time so far in the NCAA, 21st fastest time in the world this season, fastest time by a Canadian this outdoor season, sixth fastest by a Canadian since 2022 and the 39th fastest time by a Canadian all-time. Her mark of 4:10.04 was also the fastest by any collegian at the Drake Relays since 2013 when Carly Hamilton (Georgia) ran a 4:12.15.

With the relay cup title basically in hand after it's SMR victory, Utah tacked on five more points after its 4x400m relay team took fourth (3:40.64) – the third-fastest time this season for the Utes.

With the fourth-place finish in the 4x400m relay, Utah officially claimed the 2023 Relay Cup with a total of 36 points. The next closest competitor was Minnesota with 23 points.

BENGAL INVITATIONAL
Erin Palmer started the day in Pocatello for Utah, finishing fifth with a new PR time of 58.15 (aa) in the 400m dash at Davis Field. Maren Busath followed suit in her 800m race, setting a new personal best mark as well with a run of 2:21.47 (aa).

Meanwhile, Bailey Kealamakia was able to secure a runner-up finish in the 400m hurdles with another PR – this time 59.35 (aa) – as an unattached runner.

UP NEXT
The Women of Utah will get to rest and train up for two weeks before heading back to Southern California for the Pac-12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif.

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.

###