Eriksen Sets Another School Record to Highlight Eventful Saturday for Track & Field

SPOKANE, Wash. – Sophomore Josefine Eriksen broke a school record for the second-straight weekend after she ran a 24.24 in the 200m dash at the WSU Invitational this Saturday inside The Podium.
 
"Another meet, another school record for Josefine (Eriksen)," said head coach Kyle Kepler post meet. "The 200m record along with the 53.2 anchor leg for the winning 4x400m team I'd say makes for a quite a day. We also had some other great efforts and PRs. Even for the gals that didn't have their best days, I saw the fight and effort required to keep getting better and improving. Our sport often times is so much about continuing to fight for improvement on the challenging days more than the personal record days. Those PR days are important but the lessons that come from the less than great days cultivate the toughness that our student-athletes are known for."
 
Ruby Jane Mathewson came out setting a new PR in the 60m hurdles for the second-consecutive week, posting a time of 8.99 on Saturday to kick the day off for Utah at the WSU Invitational. Over in the 60m dash, Maya LeBar recorded the fastest time among the six Utes racing in the event with a time of 7.75 – which was good for 16th overall. Taylor Watson followed with a season-best time of 7.90 for 21st-place while Megan Rose once again posted a 7.92 for the third-straight race. In the first 60m race of her career, Bailey Kealamakia ran a 7.99. Lauren O'Banion and Makenna McCloy rounded out the group of Utes competing in the 60m dash with times of 8.08 and 8.10, respectively.
 
Karli Branch, who competed in just her second collegiate indoor race ever, narrowly recorded a new PR in the mile – finishing the mile in 5:07.10.
 
In the 400m dash, Kelise Davis and Kealamakia went 14-15 with times of 58.53 and 58.69, respectively. Kealamakia's mark was good for first in her heat as well as a new PR for the sophomore. Rachel Whipple wasn't too far behind, clocking in at 58.94 for 17th overall. Mathewson completed the group of Utes finishing in the top-20 with a mark of 59.47.
 
Jasie York picked up her second top-10 finish of the year behind a run of 2:14.54 in the 800m, just barely missing her PR (2:14.38). In just the second 800m race of her indoor career, Emma Earl posted a finish of 2:20.20.
 
When it came to the 200m, Eriksen put on another record-breaking display and now holds two records at Utah after breaking the school mark in the 400m just last week. LeBar also nearly moved up the record books with her time of 25:09, but was just short of her PR (25.03) – which now stands as the sixth-fastest with Eriksen taking over the leaderboard.
 
Over in the long jump, Delaney Gates crushed her previous PR of 4.81m (15-9.25) on Saturday after leaping a distance of 5.10m (16-8.75) in her second attempt after registering a jump of 5.09m in her first attempt.
 
The Women of Utah closed out the day winning their heat in the 4x400m relay with Morgan Jensen, LeBar, Jasie York and Eriksen running the anchor leg (3:47.50).
 
Early in the day at the Weber State Invitational, Maren Busath took eight overall in the 800m with a time of 2:27.21 in her first collegiate indoor race. Natalie Platil came in 10th after crossing the finish line at 5:27.70 in the mile while Kennedy Powell posted a time of 5:38.04 for 15th overall in her first indoor race since 2020.
 
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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