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Utah Cross Country Looks to Continue Momentum at MWC Championships
10/26/2010 12:00 AM | Cross Country
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Oct. 26, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah- The University of Utah women's cross country team heads to Laramie, Wyo., this Friday, to compete at the Mountain West Conference Championships. The six-kilometer race will be hosted by the University of Wyoming at the Jacoby Golf Course beginning at 10 a.m. MDT.
The young Utah team will use the experience of sophomores Amanda Mergaert, Jenny McCune, and Megan Combe, all of whom competed last year at the MWC Championships meet as freshmen.
"Our three sophomores will be more relaxed this year because they know what to expect," Utah head coach Kyle Kepler said. "Their maturation will help the freshmen be more relaxed and focus on competing."
Last year, the Utes finished sixth at the MWC Championships and were led by then-freshman Mergaert, who finished 28th with a time of 22:53.1.
"I feel we are better positioned to compete in the upper half of the league this year because we are more experienced," said Kepler. "Our sophomore group has been through this meet before. They have a better feel for what to expect. The freshmen on our team have been consistent all year. I think we will respond well."
Utah true freshmen Nikki Dotter, AuraLea Fain, Rebekah Winterton, and Alexis Laws will be competing at the MWC Championships the first time. The experience they gained at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet two weeks ago will be key as they compete at the MWC Championships this week.
Mergaert continues to lead the Utes, after setting a new personal-record six-kilometer time at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet with a time of 21:05.8. She looks to improve on that time this weekend with fewer runners in the mix.
Kepler's Thoughts
"We are going to run our race and try to make the other teams react to us. We were picked fourth in the pre-meet coaches' poll and I think that is realistic based on this season's results. To finish in the top-three we will have to have an exceptional race."
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