Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus Gans Creek Classic on September 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM
8:00 AM
Cross Country
vs Gans Creek Classic
Saturday, November 18
Earlysville, VA
8:20 AM
University of Utah
vs
NCAA Championships
No. 14 Women of Utah Travels to Virginia for NCAA Championships
11/16/2023 3:36 PM | Cross Country
The 14th-ranked Utah cross country team is headed to Virginia for the NCAA Championships this Saturday on ESPNU.
SALT LAKE CITY – The 14th-ranked Utah cross country team is headed east to Earlysville, Va., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Nov. 18, at Panorama Farms. Like years past, the championships will once again broadcast live on ESPNU starting at 7:30 a.m. (MT) with the women's race set to go off at 8:20 a.m. (MT) / 10:20 a.m. (ET) local.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Meet Central)
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 18
WHERE: Panorama Farms
WHEN: 8:20 a.m. (MT) / 10:20 a.m. (ET)
TICKETS: SOLD OUT
TELEVISION: ESPNU
LIVE STREAM: https://es.pn/3QZIUTH
LIVE RESULTS: https://bit.ly/3QDWwm5
PARTICIPANTS: #20 Alabama, #12 Arkansas, #26 Boston College, #3 BYU, #21 Cal Baptist, #17 Colorado, #28 Colorado State, #8 Florida, #13 Furman, #6 Georgetown, #29 Harvard, #16 Iowa State, #25 Lipscomb, #19 Michigan State, #1 NAU, #2 NC State, #7 Notre Dame, #4 Oklahoma State, #23 Ole Miss, #9 Oregon, #30 Penn State, #27 Providence, #5 Stanford, #24 Syracuse, #11 Tennessee, Texas A&M, #14 Utah, #22 Utah Valley, #15 Virginia, #10 Washington, #18 Wisconsin
UTAH PARTICIPANTS: Karli Branch, McKaylie Caesar, Morgan Jensen, Ellie Lundgreen (Alt), Kyla Martin, Clara Mayfield, Katarzyna Nowakowska, Anna Peters
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
As a program, this year will mark the sixth time the Women of Utah have competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships overall – all of which have been under the direction of head coach Kyle Kepler.
THE LINE UP
Utah will compete as a team at the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the third-consecutive year, but will be its least experienced team at the championships since 2019. Morgan Jensen will be the lone Ute to have ran at the championships. However, it will be the fourth NCAA Championships appearance for Clara Mayfield but her first at the Division I level. Her previous three appearances came at the Division III level.
THE FIELD
Of the 31 teams competing at the championships only Texas A&M isn't ranked in the USTFCCCA Top-30. In addition to the automatic bids, the mountain regional sent a total of six team to the NCAA Championships.
REGIONAL AWARDS
Utah's McKaylie Caesar, Morgan Jensen and Anna Peters were officially named USTFCCCA All-Region honorees this past Monday after the trio finished within the top-20 at the NCAA Mountain Regional. It was the first time being named all-region for all three. It also marked the second-consecutive year where the Women of Utah have had three all-region honorees and the fifth time overall that Utah has had a trio of all-region honorees (2023, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2015).
Peters was the first Ute to cross the finish line at last week's NCAA Mountain Regional, placing 14th-overall with a time of 19:53.0 – which was the fastest 6k time by any Ute at the regional meet since it moved to that distance in 2000.
Caesar narrowly out-leaned Jensen at the tape to finish in 18th with a mark of 20:04.6 – just .2 ahead of Jensen (19th; 20:04.8). Their times were also good for third and fourth-fastest in school history at the regionals trailing Grayson Murphy's time of 20:04.0 back in 2017 – which was good for second-overall when the race was held in Logan, Utah.
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, X and Instagram.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Meet Central)
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 18
WHERE: Panorama Farms
WHEN: 8:20 a.m. (MT) / 10:20 a.m. (ET)
TICKETS: SOLD OUT
TELEVISION: ESPNU
LIVE STREAM: https://es.pn/3QZIUTH
LIVE RESULTS: https://bit.ly/3QDWwm5
PARTICIPANTS: #20 Alabama, #12 Arkansas, #26 Boston College, #3 BYU, #21 Cal Baptist, #17 Colorado, #28 Colorado State, #8 Florida, #13 Furman, #6 Georgetown, #29 Harvard, #16 Iowa State, #25 Lipscomb, #19 Michigan State, #1 NAU, #2 NC State, #7 Notre Dame, #4 Oklahoma State, #23 Ole Miss, #9 Oregon, #30 Penn State, #27 Providence, #5 Stanford, #24 Syracuse, #11 Tennessee, Texas A&M, #14 Utah, #22 Utah Valley, #15 Virginia, #10 Washington, #18 Wisconsin
UTAH PARTICIPANTS: Karli Branch, McKaylie Caesar, Morgan Jensen, Ellie Lundgreen (Alt), Kyla Martin, Clara Mayfield, Katarzyna Nowakowska, Anna Peters
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
As a program, this year will mark the sixth time the Women of Utah have competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships overall – all of which have been under the direction of head coach Kyle Kepler.
| YEAR | TEAM FINISH | BEST INDIVIDUAL FINISH (PLACE, TIME) |
| 2022 | 12th | Emily Venters (12th, 19:54.1) |
| 2021 | 20th | Bella Williams (51st, 20:07.9) |
| 2019 | 16th | Poppy Tank (74th, 21:05.8) |
| 2016 | 20th | Grayson Murphy (53rd, 20:33.3) |
| 2015 | 26th | Hannah McInturff (104th, 20:51.3) |
THE LINE UP
Utah will compete as a team at the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the third-consecutive year, but will be its least experienced team at the championships since 2019. Morgan Jensen will be the lone Ute to have ran at the championships. However, it will be the fourth NCAA Championships appearance for Clara Mayfield but her first at the Division I level. Her previous three appearances came at the Division III level.
| CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE | |||
| Runner | Year | Finish | Time |
| Clara Mayfield (DIII) | 2022 | 3rd | 21:55.7 |
| Clara Mayfield (DIII) | 2021 | 10th | 21:10.8 |
| Clara Mayfield (DIII) | 2019 | 30th | 22:04.4 |
| Morgan Jensen | 2022 | 176th | 21:07.8 |
THE FIELD
Of the 31 teams competing at the championships only Texas A&M isn't ranked in the USTFCCCA Top-30. In addition to the automatic bids, the mountain regional sent a total of six team to the NCAA Championships.
REGIONAL AWARDS
Utah's McKaylie Caesar, Morgan Jensen and Anna Peters were officially named USTFCCCA All-Region honorees this past Monday after the trio finished within the top-20 at the NCAA Mountain Regional. It was the first time being named all-region for all three. It also marked the second-consecutive year where the Women of Utah have had three all-region honorees and the fifth time overall that Utah has had a trio of all-region honorees (2023, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2015).
Peters was the first Ute to cross the finish line at last week's NCAA Mountain Regional, placing 14th-overall with a time of 19:53.0 – which was the fastest 6k time by any Ute at the regional meet since it moved to that distance in 2000.
Caesar narrowly out-leaned Jensen at the tape to finish in 18th with a mark of 20:04.6 – just .2 ahead of Jensen (19th; 20:04.8). Their times were also good for third and fourth-fastest in school history at the regionals trailing Grayson Murphy's time of 20:04.0 back in 2017 – which was good for second-overall when the race was held in Logan, Utah.
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, X and Instagram.
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