Completed Event: Track & Field versus NCAA Championships on June 12, 2025 ,
Final Score
Track & Field
vs NCAA Championships
Saturday, March 17
Los Angeles, CA
All Day
University of Utah
at
Trojan Invitational
Faust & Grossman Lead Utah Track and Field at Day 2 of Trojan Invitational
3/17/2018 6:54 PM | Track & Field
Utah brings home six top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes.
LOS ANGELES – The Utah track and field team recorded six top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes on the second day of the Trojan Invitational. Leading the way for the Utes was junior Caitlin Faust who captured third in the 800-meter run and senior Dakota Grossman who also earned a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter race.
"I thought we had a very nice opening outdoor meet," Utah head coach Kyle Kepler said. "Probably our best opener maybe in the last three or four years and I was just really pleased with the effort from our gals."
In the 800-meter race, four Utes recorded personal bests and five finished in the top 15. Faust and sophomore Sarah Newton led the way as they finished in third and fourth with times of 2:10.06 (Faust) and 2:10.18 (Newton). Senior Grace Englund finished in 11th place with a time of 2:10.99, sophomore Nicole Griffiths earned 13th with a time of 2:13.31 and senior Hannah McInturff placed 15th with a time of 2:14.39. Also competing for the Utes was senior Megan Perkins-Killian (16th, 2:14.78), freshman Whitney Hessler (18th, 2:16.37) and sophomore Melissa Taggart (22nd, 2:18.88). Newton, Englund, Griffiths, McInturff, and Perkins-Killian all had personal best times.
In the 400-meter dash, senior Alissa Atisme, freshman Jackie Martin, and senior Mesa Weidle all finished in the top 10. Atisme captured fourth with a time of 56.01, Martin placed sixth with a time of 57.24, and Weidle finished eighth with a time of 58.07.
"Alissa went our faster through 200 meters than she had run indoors for 200-meters," Kepler explained. "To split half way through a race faster than you ran during the entire indoor season for 200 meters, just tells you how aggressive she was and how much she wanted to come out and open the outdoor season right as a senior.
The mile run was a big event for the Utes as they had seven of their nine competitors finish in the top 15. Sophomore Poppy Tank placed fifth in a time of 4:55.10, senior Jessica Sams earned seventh in a time of 4:59.73, senior Louise Mercer finished eighth in a time of 4:59.81, freshman Aubrey Argyle earned ninth with a time of 5:00.85, and Grossman placed 10th with a time of 5:02.78. Also competing for the Utes was sophomore Trina Moreno (12th, 5:06.36), freshman Bella Williams (14th, 5:08.85), freshman Natalie Platil (16th, 5:12.99), and sophomore Ashley Licata (20th, 5:39.27).
Grossman's third place finish in the 3,000 was a new personal-best time of 10:10.43.
In the 400-meter hurdles, freshman Rachel Whipple made her outdoor debut and placed seventh with a time of 63.14. Senior Madison Lanford finished ninth with a time of 65.37.
Senior Raynee Helm Wheelock competed in the 100 and 200-meter dash events for the Utes on Saturday. In the 100-meter, Wheelock placed 14th with a time of 12.55 and in the 200-meter, Wheelock finished in 27th with a time of 25.99.
Utah had two teams compete in the 4x400 meter relay, with their "A" team finishing in third place with a time of 3:49.44. The "A" team consisted of Englund, Faust, J. Martin, and Atisme. Utah's "B" team placed eighth with a time of 3:53.29. The "B" squad featured Weilde, Hessler, Newton, and Lanford.
In the high jump, junior Eliza Hansen finished in fifth with a height of 1.60 meters (5'3.0"). Junior Lauren McCluskey earned sixth place with a height of 1.55 meters (5'1.0"). Regan Crofts made her collegiate debut in the javelin, finishing in 13th place with a distance of 32.45 meters (106'9.0").
"Just all across the board, I thought our kids really competed hard and they looked like you think they would look at the beginning of the year and then not as sharp at the end and didn't finish quite as well through races," Kepler stated. "But it certainly showed a lot of toughness and a lot of fight today and I think that is really important in our first meet."
The Utes will be back in action next weekend, Mar. 23-24, at the Aztec Invitational hosted by San Diego State University.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Sprints
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Javelin
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400m/800m
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Jumps
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Sprints
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400m/800m
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Long Sprints
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Distance
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Sprints
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Jumps
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Long Sprints
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Sprints
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Distance
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