Friday, October 14
Madison, Wis.
All Day
University of Utah

at

Wisconsin Invitational
#23 Utah Cross Country Captures Seventh at Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational
10/14/2016 12:53 PM | Cross Country
Juniors Grayson Murphy and Hannah McInturff lead the way for Utah.
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 23-ranked Utah women's cross country team finished in seventh place at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday, which included 17 of the top-30 teams in the nation. Led by junior Grayson Murphy, Utah finished the race with 287 points at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
"This is one of those weekends you come out to prove yourself and I think we did that pretty well," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "We know we were far from perfect and we have a lot of things we have to work on. I really felt like we dealt with the pressure and expectations very well and we know that will only pickup more as we get better but that is a good thing."
Murphy recorded a top-20 performance, finishing in 20th place with a time of 20:36.8 for the six-kilometer race. Junior Hannah McInturff and Murphy ran together nearly the whole race until there was about 1500 meters left and Murphy pulled ahead. McInturff finished the race in a time of 20:48.6 to earn 35th place. Freshman Amanda Gehrich posted a time of 21:01.5 to place 56th for Utah.
"The two up front, Grayson and Hannah really ran great together. For those two to finish in the top-35 in this race is a big deal and certainly helped our team today in the team standings," Kepler said. "True freshman Amanda Gehrich just has great consistency and to place 56th as a freshman is just great."
Rounding out Utah's team score, senior Giselle Slotboom finished in 69th place in a time of 21:05.7, while freshman Poppy Tank ran a time of 21:30.7 to finish in 107th place. Junior Shaylen Crook and freshman Ashley Licata also ran in the team race finishing in 164th and 170th place, respectively. Crook recorded a time of 22:08.7 and Licata posted a time of 22:12.8.
No. 4 Washington took home the team title with 124 points. No. 3 NC State placed second totaling 166 points, No. 1 Providence finished in third place with 170 points, and No. 11 New Mexico came in fourth place with 207 points. No. 21 Baylor (228) and No. 19 San Francisco (258) finished ahead of the Utes in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Competing in the open race, junior Becky Sarmiento led the Utah runners placing 15th in the six-kilometer race. Sarmiento crossed the line with a time of 21:53.8. Senior Dana Snell came in next for the Utes finishing in 43rd place with a time of 22:22.8. Junior Sadie Wassum placed 69th (22:36.3), senior Kate Stringfellow finished in 77th place (22:45.8), and freshman Anna Busatto placed 96th (23:13.0) to round out the Utah runners who competed in the open race on Friday morning.
The Utes will compete next at the Pac-12 Championships on Oct. 28. The conference meet will be held in Tucson, Ariz.
"This is one of those weekends you come out to prove yourself and I think we did that pretty well," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "We know we were far from perfect and we have a lot of things we have to work on. I really felt like we dealt with the pressure and expectations very well and we know that will only pickup more as we get better but that is a good thing."
Murphy recorded a top-20 performance, finishing in 20th place with a time of 20:36.8 for the six-kilometer race. Junior Hannah McInturff and Murphy ran together nearly the whole race until there was about 1500 meters left and Murphy pulled ahead. McInturff finished the race in a time of 20:48.6 to earn 35th place. Freshman Amanda Gehrich posted a time of 21:01.5 to place 56th for Utah.
"The two up front, Grayson and Hannah really ran great together. For those two to finish in the top-35 in this race is a big deal and certainly helped our team today in the team standings," Kepler said. "True freshman Amanda Gehrich just has great consistency and to place 56th as a freshman is just great."
Rounding out Utah's team score, senior Giselle Slotboom finished in 69th place in a time of 21:05.7, while freshman Poppy Tank ran a time of 21:30.7 to finish in 107th place. Junior Shaylen Crook and freshman Ashley Licata also ran in the team race finishing in 164th and 170th place, respectively. Crook recorded a time of 22:08.7 and Licata posted a time of 22:12.8.
No. 4 Washington took home the team title with 124 points. No. 3 NC State placed second totaling 166 points, No. 1 Providence finished in third place with 170 points, and No. 11 New Mexico came in fourth place with 207 points. No. 21 Baylor (228) and No. 19 San Francisco (258) finished ahead of the Utes in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Competing in the open race, junior Becky Sarmiento led the Utah runners placing 15th in the six-kilometer race. Sarmiento crossed the line with a time of 21:53.8. Senior Dana Snell came in next for the Utes finishing in 43rd place with a time of 22:22.8. Junior Sadie Wassum placed 69th (22:36.3), senior Kate Stringfellow finished in 77th place (22:45.8), and freshman Anna Busatto placed 96th (23:13.0) to round out the Utah runners who competed in the open race on Friday morning.
The Utes will compete next at the Pac-12 Championships on Oct. 28. The conference meet will be held in Tucson, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
No videos available.




