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8:00 AM
Cross Country
vs Gans Creek Classic
Saturday, October 17
Fayetteville, Ark.
TBA
University of Utah
vs
Chile Pepper Invitational
Mergaert Leads Cross Country at Chile Pepper Invite
10/17/2009 12:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 17, 2009
Complete Results in PDF Format 
FAYETTEVILL, ARK. - The University of Utah cross country team worked through illness and injury to place 13th of 37 teams at the Chile Pepper 6-Kilometer Invitational on Saturday. The Utes were paced by freshman Amanda Mergaert for the second race in a row.
Utah's scoring runners included Mergaert, Jenny McCune, Lucy Yates, Megan Combe and Sydney Osmun. Alexis Davis, Rachel Schmalzle and Chantel Hunt also competed in the 6-kilometer race.
Mergaert led the Utes on the course, finishing 32nd out of 217 runners with a time of 22:07.47. McCune, a freshman, completed the one-two punch, executing a 62nd-place finish with a time of 22:46.95.
Utah's next finishers were amongst the top 100 of the race. Yates, a freshman, stepped it up on Saturday to finish the course in 23:18.76 for 95th-place overall. Combe, a freshman, finished right behind her with a time of 23:19.73 and 98th-place overall. Osmun, a senior, rounded out the top-five finishers for Utah, finishing in 23:22.76 and 102nd-place.
Davis, a junior, came in 117th overall with a time of 23:31.92 on the course. Schmalzle, a freshman, clocked in at 23:49.86 for 134th overall. Hunt also ran in the Chile Pepper Invitational for a time of 24:25.06.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH Kyle Kepler
"This was definitely the biggest and best race of the season. This is encouraging considering how big the meet was and being a part of a festival and competing against over 200 runners. I thought our kids responded well. I was impressed that they were all focused and had goals, which they worked extremely hard to achieve. I think we all ran a good race. TCU nipped us by a few points, but we have a better idea of where we stand in the conference and what we will have to do finish in the upper half of our division. It was a positive step for us and comes at a great time as we head into the conference championships in two weeks.
"I don't think I could say enough about Amanda Mergaert. That's one of the fastest times in the four times we've come here [Chile Pepper Invite] that I've ever seen. She was focused and energized, which is pretty incredible since she has been in bed sick for the majority of the week. She never panicked and the rest of the group kind of followed as well."
COMING UP
The Utes will be taking next weekend off of competition in preparation for the Mountain West Conference Championships held on Oct. 31, 2009 in Provo, Utah.
Players Mentioned
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
Distance/CC
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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