Women of Utah Continue to Reshape Record Books on a Busy Day of Competition

CLOVIS/STANFORD, Calif. – On a loaded Friday where the Utah track & field team was spread between four different meets, the Women of Utah saw several student-athletes leave their mark in the school record books while Skyler Blair was victorious in the 400m hurdles in her return from injury.

Skyler Blair takes home the official CHICKEN DINNER from the West Coast Relays in the 400m Hurdles! Not just that, but a half second PR too?! #dontcallitacomeback #goutes #utahutes #utahtfxc pic.twitter.com/bzvCUvKVV5

— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) April 2, 2022

 
Morgan Jensen kicked things off for the Utah distance crew at the Stanford Invitational, picking up a sixth-place finish in the 5000m race with a big PR of 16:41.39 – which bested her previous time by 15 seconds. Senior Sophie Ryan captured the victory in her section of the 1500m race behind a personal best time of 4:22.15.
 
Simone Plourde started the evening off in the 1500m invite race with the third-fastest time in program history after crossing the finish line at 4:18.19. Keelah Barger followed in the 5000m and crushed her previous PR with a 16:33.04 mark.
 
In the stacked 5000m invite section that included several professional runners, Cara Woolnough and Emily Venters finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively, while also being the third and fourth collegians to finish the race. Woolnough's final time of 15:44.52 was good for second all-time at Utah while Venters secured the fourth-fastest time (15:57.79) for a new personal record – which previously set at the Stanford Invitational back in 2018.
 
Earlier in the day at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic, Emma Earl ran a PR time of 4:46.67 to take third in her heat while Karli Branch checked in with a time of 4:42.13 in the 1500m.
 
Down in the Central Valley of California, the 4x100m relay squad of Lauren O'Banion, Maya LeBar, Megan Rose and Kelise Davis took third (46.74). In the 400m race, Oneillia Fuller crossed the finish line at 56.86 as the lone Ute in that event.
 
Josefine Eriksen continued to dominate each time she has stepped foot on the track, this time racing to a 12.04 mark in the 100m dash – which put her fifth all-time in the Utah record books while also giving her the victory in her section. Rose also took second in her section of the 100m sprint behind a time of 12.47.
 
Running in the top heat, Brooklyn James and Jasie York finished one after the other in the 800m race. James narrowly out-leaned York with a time of 2:10.73 with York checking in at 2:10.73.
 
Once again, Eriksen saw herself etched into the record books after posting the second-fastest time program history, clocking in at 24.20 in the 200m dash – which was good for eighth overall and third in her section.
 
Moving onto the 100m hurdles, Ruby Jane Mathewson was just shy of her career-best after recording a mark of 14.49 for sixth-overall while Bailey Kealamakia came in at 15.22. Blair captured the 400m hurdles victory later on in the day when she ran a PR time of 59.21 – which also bumped her into fourth on the all-time list. Meanwhile, the trio of Kealamakia (1:02.09), Rachel Whipple (1:02.18) and Mathewson (1:02.77) all finished in succession to round out the top-10.
 
Closing out the day at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum were Utah's 4x400m relay teams. The crew of Kelise Davis, O'Banion, Fuller and Eriksen took third with a final time of 3:42.75 while the secondary team of LeBar, James, Mathewson and Kealamakia checked in at 3:53.34.
 
Back in the Beehive State, Maren Busath made her collegiate outdoor track debut in the 800m with a time of 2:24.37 (aa). Like Busath, Ellie Lundgreen made her collegiate debut as well and posted a time of 10:15.31 (aa) in the 3000m race – which was good for seventh overall. Delaney Gates won her section and finished seventh overall in the long jump after leaping a career-high tying mark of 5.35m (17-6.75) on her third attempt.
 
Saturday will be a light day for the Utes with Brooke Manson and Earl competing in the 800m race over on The Farm at the Stanford 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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