VERONA, Wisc. – The Utah cross country team concluded its 2024 season on Saturday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course with a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The 19th-place finish is the third-best finish in program history behind the 12th and 13th-place finishes from the 2022 and 2023 squads, respectively.
“Our Gals all ran hard and competed for every point,” head coach Kyle Kepler said after the race. “We overcame some adversity and put together another top-20 finish. I’m’ proud of their effort and commitment to each other.”
Erin Vringer and McKaylie Caesar each took their turn leading the Utes through the 1k and 2k markers but it was sophomore Anna Peters who took over at the midway point that led the rest of the way for Utah.
Peters moved up 11 spots by the time she got to the 3k checkpoint and jumped from 73rd to 62nd before passing 18 more runners in the final 2000m to finish 44th-overall with a time of 20:08.0 – which is the seventh-fastest time by a Ute at the championships since it was moved to a 6k race in 2000. Peters now owns the fifth and seventh-fastest individual time by a Ute at the championships.
Vringer led the Utes early on at the 1k mark before Caesar took the lead going past 2000m. After a dip heading through the 2k checkpoint, Vringer was able to settle in and moved up 14 spots in the final 2000-meters of the race – including nine in the final 1k to finish 68th at 20:22.3.
Caesar did her best to chase down her teammates down the stretch before crossing the finish line at 20:40.3 (120th). Morgan Jensen was Utah’s fourth scorer of the morning thanks to a huge kick between the 3k and 4k checkpoints as she passed 48 runners during that 2000m stretch before passing another 16 runners in the final 1000m to finish 147th-overall at 20:48.6.
Lindsey Peters was Utah’s fifth and final scorer to cross the finish line when she clocked a time of 21:12.4 for 205th-place overall in her very first NCAA Championships appearance.
Freshman Marika Couture was the sixth runner for Utah to cross, posting a time of 21:23.7 (218th) while Emily Chaston closed things out for the Utes with a run of 21:25.0 (222nd).
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thomas Zimmer Championship Course •…
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