University of Utah Athletics

Kyle Kepler enters his 19th year as the head coach of the Utah women's cross country and track & field programs and 25th season overall as a Division I head coach. Kepler's organization and attention to detail have allowed him to develop a solid foundation and create a competitive nationally recognized program that has steadily improved each year. 
 
Under Kepler, Utah qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a team for the first time in program history back in 2015 (26th-place) and has since repeated the feat in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022. The Women of Utah recorded their best finish at the championships in 2023 with a 12th-place finish – moving up four spots from 16th in 2019.
 
Utah’s 2015 squad recorded the program’s then highest finish at the NCAA Regionals (3rd) to become the first team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. That regional squad was led by Hannah McInturff’s fourth-place finish. That year’s team ended up in 26th at the NCAA Championships and paved the way for program for years to come. The following season Utah returned to the championships and moved up six spots to place 20th.
 
The 2019 team made its splash on the national scene at the Joe Piane Invitational, going head-to-head with some of the nation’s best teams and came out victorious in a tight race against top-ranked Colorado. Following that inspiring performance, the Utes vaulted into the national rankings and checked in with their highest ranking in program history at No. 6. The Utes then went out and took third as a team – their best finish at the Pac-12 Championships at that point behind top-10 finishes from Poppy Tank (6th), Bella Williams (7th) and Sarah Feeny (10th). Playing host to that season’s NCAA Regionals, Utah secured an at-large berth to the championships after finishing fifth in arguably the most challenging and deepest region in the country.
 
Utah’s 2021 squad tied the 2016 team for the third-highest finish in program history (20th) at the NCAA Championships after a successful season. The Utes took home the team title at the Dellinger Invitational before taking second at the Pre-Nats / FSU Invitational. In postseason action, Utah took second at the Pac-12 Championships, which was its highest finish ever since joining the league in 2011, behind a trio of top-12 finishes from Emily Venters (3rd), Cara Woonough (7th) and Simone Plourde (11th). The Utes then took fifth at the NCAA Regionals to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships.
 
Kepler and Co. had a season to remember in 2022-23, making history on the cross country side while breaking 16 records with 30 new entries into the school record book on the track side. Meanwhile, the Women of Utah also captured the Drake Relays Cup for the first time in school history. As a program, Utah finished at No. 9 in the final USTFCCCA Program of the Year standings – its highest finish ever in program history. Cross Country closed out the year 12th, 21st at indoors and 15th at outdoors.
 
In addition, the Utes saw Plourde and Venters join the professional ranks with both signing contracts to run with the Union Athletics Club.
 
The 2022 cross country season set the tone for the whole year as Utah kicked things off by sweeping the podium at the Roy Griak Invitational behind Venters’ first-career victory. After an eighth-place finish at a stacked Nuttycombe Invitational, the Women of Utah nearly made history at the Pac-12 Championships but ultimately finished second to Colorado after losing the tiebreaker while Venters and Plourde took home First-team All-Pac-12 honors. The tiebreaker went in favor of the Utes two weeks later at the NCAA Mountain Regional meet where it came in second to earn the program’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Venters then became Utah’s ninth All-American in cross country, fourth under Kepler, when she crossed the finish line in 12th to guide the Utes to a program best 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
 
On the track, the Utes have had an individual compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships six different times (2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023) with Langley Iverson (2011), Amanda Mergaert (2013), Grayson Murphy (2017, 2018), Feeny (2019), Plourde (2023) and Venters (2023) all earning All-America honors. Feeny was a first-team honoree after finishing eighth overall in the mile at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. It was the first All-American honor for Feeny and the third consecutive indoor All-American for the Utes. The 2023 indoor season saw Plourde and Venters both take home First-Team All-America honors after the pair recorded top-five finishes in the 3000m and 5000m, respectively. Plourde’s fourth-place finish was Utah’s top individual finish ever at the indoor championships.
 
The outdoor track season has seen an ample amount of success with 116 individual qualifiers for the NCAA West Preliminaries under Kepler. The 2023 season was a breakout year for the Utes, sending a dozen qualifiers to the west preliminaries to compete in seven events – including the 4x400m relay team for a third-consecutive year. Meanwhile, the 2013 and 2022 squads sent the second most qualifiers with 10 athletes in each of those years. The 2021 season was also the first time since 2009 that Utah has had a 4x400m relay team qualify for the NCAA West Preliminaries.
 
As a program, Utah has sent 16 student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and have had multiple competitors at the national meet seven different times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2022, 2023). Mergaert, who is one the most decorated Utes in program history, was also named the 2011 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. Meanwhile, Murphy was also a five-time All-American, including two first-team All-America honors in the 3000 steeplechase, two second-team All-America honors in the indoor 5000m and a 2017 cross country All-America distinction.
 
Mergaert (2011-13, 1500m) and Chelsea Shapard (2007-09, 400m hurdles) still stand as the only two to be three-time NCAA Championship qualifiers. Meanwhile, Tank became the first distance runner since Jill Molen (1982) to run both the 5k and 10k at the 2021 outdoor championships. Venters recently joined Tank and Molen on that shortlist in 2023 when she finished second in the 10k and third in the 5k. In total, the Utes have had six different student-athletes garner 16 All-America honors both indoor and outdoor seasons on top of six honorable mentions under Kepler.
 
During Utah's six years in the Mountain West Conference under Kepler, Utah student-athletes won nine outdoor conference titles and two indoor titles. Chelsea Shapard was a three-time 400m hurdles outdoor champion. In that time, Utah earned 23 outdoor and 20 indoor All-MWC honors.
 
Kepler's influence on his student-athletes is not just visible on the track, but also in the classroom. His cross country teams have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors 16 times while his track teams have earned honors 13 times. His athletes have combined for 108 individual honors from the USTFCCCA between track and cross country.
 
Lauren Endersen was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2008 and 2009, while Rosalie Waller earned honors in 2014. Cara Woolnough was the latest Ute to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2022. Woolnough also became the first Utah cross country and track & field student-athlete and third student-athlete from Utah to ever earn the NCAA Elite 90 Award after graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA in biomedical engineering. Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, the cross country and track & field team has had three student-athletes receive the Pac-12 Post Graduate Scholarship.
 
Prior to coming to Utah, Kepler served as Northern Iowa's head men's and women's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for two seasons. He was on staff at UNI for a total of seven years, serving as an assistant cross country coach for five years prior to being named head coach in 2003. Kepler was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Panthers to a MVC title. The Panthers won 12 MVC titles among cross country and indoor and outdoor track during his tenure with the Panthers. He coached nine All-Americans at UNI, and 15 athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships between track and cross country.
 
At UNI, he served as the meet manager for the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships and Pre-Nationals meet. Kepler was also named the meet director of the annual A. D. Dickinson Relays, one of the largest high school indoor meets in the nation.
 
Kepler competed at Northern Iowa, taking part in both cross country and track and field for the Panthers and served as a team captain during the 1997-98 school year. As an athlete, Kepler was a member of five MVC championship teams. He earned all-conference honors nine times during his collegiate career, was a two-time all-region cross country selection and a six-time Academic All-MVC honoree.
 
Kepler holds both master's and bachelor's degrees from Northern Iowa. He earned his master's degree in physical education in 2004 and graduated with a bachelor's in secondary education (geography) in 1998.
 
Kepler is married to Hannah Vickery and they have two daughters, seven-year old Cora and four-year old Arielle.