Records Fall in Standout Day for Track & Field in Seattle

SEATTLE – Utah track & field transfer Josefine Eriksen broke the school record in the 400m, with several others cracking the records books, while also capturing the 4x400m relay title on Saturday at the UW Invitational inside Dempsey Indoor Track.
 
Hannah Butler opened up day two for the Utes with a PR time of 9:50.61 in the 3,000m and crushed her previous PR of 9:59.47 while Morgan Jensen checked in with time of 10:05.49 in her first career indoor race.
 
In the 60m dash prelims, Maya LeBar posted the fastest time between the Utes competing and crossed the finish line at 7.84 to win her heat (10th overall). Megan Rose, Taylor Watson and Lauren O'Banion posted similar marks with times of 7.92, 7.93 and 7.99, respectively.
 
Eriksen ran a school record 54.03 in the 400m race and was just .01 away from taking first overall in the race. Brooklyn James took second in her heat with a mark of 57.80, which was good for 10th overall. Sophie Ryan paced the trio of Utes competing in the mile with a time of 4:53.42 and 24th overall. Karli Branch ran a 5:07.59 in her first indoor race as a Ute while Natalie Platil was just a smidge short of her PR time checking in at 5:19.11.
 
Simone Plourde was up next in the 800m race and recorded a top-10 run time of 2:08.65 – which propelled her to No. 10 on the all-time list. Jasie York posted a new PR in her heat with a mark of 2:14.38 while Emma Earl crossed the finish line at 2:18.75 to win her heat and Brooke Manson rounding it out at 2:15.14.
 
The Women of Utah continued to leave their mark in the record books as Emily Venters ran the second-fastest 3,000m in program history at 9:12.22 for eighth overall. Fellow newcomer Keelah Barger also saw herself etched into the record books, running a time of 9:37.41 in the 3k invite group – which placed her 10th overall at Utah.
 
Utah's 4x400m crew of O'Banion, Oneillia Fuller, Kelise Davis and Eriksen ended the weekend with a bang, capturing the 4x400m title with a time of 3:45.53.
 
The Utes will have a split squad next weekend (Feb. 4-5) as they send a contingent to Spokane, Wash., to compete at the WSU Invitational held inside a brand new facility in The Podium while a small contingent will race at the Weber State Invitational.
 
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, Twitter and Instagram.
 
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