All-American Efforts from Caesar and Peters Lead Women of Utah to 13th-Place Finish at NCAA Championships

EARLYSVILLE, Va.  – Led by a pair of All-American efforts from McKaylie Caesar and Anna Peters, the 14th-ranked Utah cross country team finished 13th-overall at the NCAA Championships on Saturday at Panorama Farms, the second-best finish ever in program history.
 
“We ran our best when it counted the most,” head coach Kyle Kepler said after the race. “I couldn’t be prouder of this group of women. Two All-Americans and a top American freshman will be the headline and it’s well deserved. But, our other gals also ran great. Morgan moved up nearly 100 places throughout the race. Clara and Kasia were steady in their first ever Division I NCAA Championships meet. Kyla and Karli filled the rolls we needed them to today. This is such a close group of women. They keep each other happy, poised and positive. The environment they have created really played out well for them today. I also want to thank all of our support staff who played such a critical role with our team.”
 
Caesar and Peters as usual led the way for the Women of Utah and anchored the team once again with a pair of top-40 finishes to earn All-America honors. It also marked the first time ever that Utah has had two runners earn All-America status at the NCAA Championships.
 
“Anna has helped me so much in every race and I couldn’t have done this race without her,” McKaylie noted. “Knowing we were running that race together and both had that ultimate goal was the most motivating thing to be able to do with my teammate right next to me. I couldn’t be more proud of her and I am so happy for not only the both of us, but the team!”
 
The Utah duo of Caesar and Peters would climb the ladder and pass several other runners at every checkpoint on the course but it wasn’t until the final kilometer did Caesar make her move to pass her teammate Peters to finish 26th-overall with a time of 19:56.7.
 
Her mark of 19:56.7 was just the fourth time in program history since the distance moved to 6k in 2000 that a Ute finished the championships race with a sub-20 time and joined an elite group of Utah runners that include Grayson Murphy (2017; 19:36.27), Emily Venters (2022; 19:54.1) and Amanda Mergaert (19:57.7).  Biding her time, Caesar ran stride for stride with Peters throughout the race but kicked it into high gear in the final 2k to pass 16 runners – including 10…